Image credit: The Clatterbridge Cancer Charity 

A major new specialist cancer hospital, Clatterbridge Cancer Centre – Liverpool (CCC-L), opened on the 27th of June. 

Clatterbridge Cancer Centre – Liverpool will deliver a wide range of highly-specialist cancer care, including pioneering chemotherapy, immunotherapy, gene therapy and radiotherapy. It will also significantly enhance opportunities for leading-edge cancer research at the University of Liverpool.

The new hospital has state-of-the-art facilities for bone marrow transplant, diagnostics and imaging, outpatients, day case treatments, a Teenage & Young Adult Unit, clinical therapies, and a wide range of cancer information and support. 

CCC-L’s location will have huge benefits for people with cancer, due to being on-site with the Royal Liverpool University Hospital and the university’s main campus for biomedical research. It will enhance care for the most complex patients – for example, those who have heart, lung and kidney conditions as well as cancer – by providing rapid access to medical and surgical specialties. Patients will also have access to leading-edge clinical trials of new cancer treatments. 

The new hospital will become the main hub in The Clatterbridge Cancer Centre NHS Foundation Trust’s extensive network of treatment centres, including its Wirral and Aintree sites, hospitals across Cheshire and Merseyside and community settings including patients’ homes and workplaces.

COVID-19 and cancer care

Image credit: Paul Karalius 

CCC-L will play a vital role in the second phase of the NHS response to coronavirus (COVID-19) by providing dedicated capacity for cancer care. It will ensure the NHS in Cheshire and Merseyside is well placed to resume normal clinical activity, providing protected facilities for people with cancer. It will also release capacity in other hospitals in the region.

The new cancer hospital has 110 fully-single en-suite patient bedrooms which will reduce the risk of catching coronavirus. This is important as people with cancer can be at greater risk of becoming extremely unwell from the virus. There are also special isolation facilities for patients whose immune systems mean they are particularly vulnerable to infection.

State-of-the-art facilities and pioneering cancer treatments

Image credit: Paul Karalius 

Dr Liz Bishop, Chief Executive of The Clatterbridge Cancer Centre NHS Foundation Trust, said: “Clatterbridge Cancer Centre – Liverpool is the culmination of an eight-year vision for transforming cancer care in a region with one of the highest rates of cancer in the country. It brings state-of-the-art facilities and pioneering cancer treatments to Cheshire and Merseyside at a time when they are more vitally needed than ever.

“We are tremendously excited about the opening Clatterbridge Cancer Centre – Liverpool. It has been a huge labour of love and I would like to pay tribute to our staff, the Laing O’Rourke site team, our suppliers, subcontractors and all the partners who have helped to bring it to fruition.”

Taking cancer research in Liverpool ‘to the next level’

Image credit: Paul Karalius 

Liverpool Health Partners is taking a strategic approach to cancer research in the broader region for the benefit of patients, now and in the future. Professor Pettitt is the Director of the LHP Cancer programme and the Ronald Finn Professor of Experimental Medicine at the University of Liverpool. He is also an Honorary Consultant Haemato-oncologist and interim Associate Medical Director at The Clatterbridge Cancer Centre NHS Foundation Trust, and Chair of the National Cancer Research Institute Lymphoma Research Group.

Professor Pettitt, said: “The region has more than its fair share of cancer, and it is, therefore, crucial that we do everything we can as a cancer research community to make the biggest possible impact on the disease. The disproportionate effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on people with cancer makes this all the more important and pressing.

“By bringing expert clinicians and scientists together in the same physical space with direct access to world-class research capability and infrastructure, Clatterbridge Cancer Centre – Liverpool will be pivotal in delivering our regional core aims of driving cross-disciplinary collaboration and translating research into patient benefit.”

Dawn Lawson, Chief Executive at Liverpool Health Partners, had this to say: ‘I’m so delighted that the Clatterbridge site is opening right next to the university in Liverpool, this opens up the possibility for us to do far more research and to really get the answers that our patients are looking for.’