New facility will boost cancer treatment production

The proposal to extend the Osborne building at the Leicester Royal Infirmary has been approved

Plans for a new facility at Leicester Royal Infirmary to increase the production of cancer treatments have been given the go-ahead.

Leicester City Council has approved a planning application from University Hospitals of Leicester (UHL) NHS Trust to extend the Osborne building to accommodate a new aseptic pharmacy.

According to the NHS, aseptic pharmacy services provide sterile controlled environments for the preparation of injectable medicines.

Jon Melbourne, chief operating officer at UHL, said the new aseptic pharmacy at the hospital would represent "a major step forward" in how the trust delivers cancer care.

The Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) said the expansion would increase the number of "isolators" – containment devices which provide the required sterilised environment – from two to five.

Mr Melbourne added: "By increasing our capacity to prepare medicines such as chemotherapy, we will be able to treat more patients, more quickly.

"The facility has been designed to support clinical research by enabling the safe preparation of trial medications, with additional isolators providing the flexibility to respond to rising patient demand and expand participation in clinical trials."

The new centre is expected to be open from April next year, Mr Melbourne added.