A pilot Christie community chemotherapy service which has been running in Bury since earlier this year is proving to be extremely popular with patients who are now receiving their care closer to home.

The specialist cancer centre The Christie launched the pilot in Bury in February 2012 with the aim to cut travel time for patients needing treatment and to treat people closer to where they live.   Delivered from within Townside Primary Care Centre in Bury, the service runs every Thursday for local patients who choose to receive their care in this alternative health care setting.  The service is the first of its kind for The Christie offering treatment for chemotherapy patients in a primary care location.

Patients living in the towns of Bury, Oldham, Rochdale and surrounding areas were specifically targeted for this pilot scheme due to the high number of patients from these areas who would usually have had to travel to The Christie’s main site in south Manchester to receive chemotherapy.   Patients from these areas are being given the option to have treatment at the pilot site in Bury. 

To date local patients have taken advantage of over 100 sessions at Bury with many more people expected to chose to receive their treatment in this community location over the coming months.

The service is run by two Christie chemotherapy nurses who travel from The Christie’s main site once a week to deliver care to patients in the community. Due to the success of this project The Christie is to extend this service and open chemotherapy units in primary care locations in Ashton and Rochdale too.  The Ashton service will be available within the next month at Ashton Primary Care Centre and the Rochdale service will be available later this year at Nye Bevan House.

42 year old Helen Smith from Bury has been undergoing treatment for breast cancer for the past two years.  She said; “I can’t describe just how helpful it is to be able to have my chemotherapy in Bury rather than having to make the long journey to the other side of Manchester.  It’s given me my days back and means normal life isn’t interrupted anymore than it has to be.  It’s such a positive thing and I’m so grateful.”

Deputy chief operating officer at The Christie Jason Dawson said; “This pilot was originally expected to last three months, but due to its outstanding success, has been extended.  It is hoped this service will become a permanent fixture as even in just a few months we have seen just how beneficial it is to patients.

 “The Christie vision is to deliver safe and effective treatment in the best possible setting.  We know how draining it can be when patients are undergoing chemotherapy treatment so we are continually looking at ways we can do things differently to make life that little bit easier for them.”

 Dr. Kiran Patel, Chairman and Clinical Lead for the NHS Bury Clinical Commissioning Group said; “This new service is about providing the best possible care by highly specialised staff in the most convenient place for patients.  One of the new Bury Clinical Commissioning Group’s main objectives is to bring services closer to home, and this is just one example of how, in partnership, we are making improvements to the way that services are delivered for the benefit of our patients.  Townside Primary Care Centre is an excellent state of the art facility, and for some patients, is more convenient than a trip to the main Christie site.  It’s a really welcome choice for many patients, and I am delighted that it’s proving popular with local patients.”

ENDS

Date: 19th July 2012