Watford 'ticks all the boxes' for Mount Vernon Cancer Centre

Two years after concerns were raised about the future of Mount Vernon Cancer Centre, which is currently based in Northwood, a bid was submitted to the government this month for £260million to move the main centre to Watford General Hospital, along with satellite units and services available around its catchment area.

In a stakeholder update published this month, it was revealed that an appraisal has confirmed placing the centre in Watford is the preferred option by a “significant margin”.

The alternative options which were to do nothing, do minimum or to disperse the service received poor ratings.

Plans to modernise facilities started after the current site was found to be neglected, short of staff and not fit for purpose in July 2019.

Many of the buildings were found to not be in a good state of repair, and concerns were raised regarding the long-term sustainability of the centre.

It is hoped that Mount Vernon Cancer Centre can move to Watford General Hospital

Replacing the service central to the catchment area – which includes north west London, Hertfordshire, parts of Bedfordshire Buckinghamshire and Berkshire - is the best solution as any other option could risk making patient access even more challenging in an area where patients already have very long journey times for treatment.

It was also noted that any option, including dispersing the services to other specialist cancer centres, involves substantial capital investment due to the size of the service and capacity of other cancer centres.

A patient representatives said that the site “ticks all the boxes” and branded other alternative options as “unacceptable”.

Professor Peter Hoskins, a consultant in clinical oncology at the centre since 1992, said: “Whilst our staff deliver the best care they can to our patients, the new cancer centre will result in a major improvement for cancer patients in the area.

“It will be the most important build of this nature in the UK, and bring security for cancer services for patients within the area for the next 50 years.”

Read more:

• Cancer services could transfer to Watford as current set-up deemed unsuitable
• Plans progress for moving cancer centre to Watford General Hospital

The bid was submitted to the Department of Health as part of the government’s New Hospital Programme, where eight hospital schemes will be funded.

A final decision on which schemes will be selected is due in Spring 2022.

The University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (UCLH) submitted the bid to the government

Once firm proposals for the cancer centre’s future are agreed, in line with one of the Independent Clinical Review recommendations, UCLH is due to take over running the cancer centre that would be built at Watford.

A representative of the Mount Vernon Patient Reference Group said: “This is a fantastic opportunity to develop something that truly meets the needs of patients and improves their experiences - reducing traveling times, improving choice and treatment options and giving patients an opportunity to help design the new services. It's the only option that will meet patients’ needs in the future.”

They added: “Any capital investment on a complete new initiative would not only in the long run save the NHS money but improve the quality of people’s lives too.”