Thousands sign hospital blood cancer care petition

Princess Royal University Hospital in Orpington currently provides haematology inpatient cancer care in its 12-bed Chartwell ward

Thousands of people have signed a petition to keep specialist blood cancer care at a south London hospital.

The 12-bed ward at Princess Royal University Hospital (PRUH) in Orpington currently provides haematology inpatient cancer care.

But the NHS trust which runs the hospital, King's College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, last month announced plans to have that provision absorbed by one of its other hospitals 12 miles away from PRUH, King's College Hospital in Camberwell.

The petition to stop the relocation had received nearly 30,000 signatures by Thursday. The hospital trust said a final decision had not yet been made.

'Transfers risk delays'

The petition was launched by charity the Chartwell Cancer Trust, which said relocating the care of blood cancer patients to King's College Hospital would be bad news for patients and their families.

Its trustee Michael Douglas said: "For these patients, minutes and miles matter.

"Transfers risk delays at every step: co-ordination, transit and bed-waits on admission. In emergencies like neutropenic sepsis, treatment must be instant."

'Chemotherapy is brutal'

One Orpington resident's husband recently spent eight months in the Chartwell ward for blood cancer treatment.

He is now in remission, and during his treatment his wife was able to visit him every day.

She said: "If this unit was in King's College Hospital, excellent though the hospital is, it would have been a huge burden on me to visit him there.

"Parking is very difficult, and train or bus travel is very inconvenient for those of us who live in the southern part of Bromley borough.

"Chemotherapy treatment is brutal, and having regular family visits is a very important part of raising the morale of a patient suffering from blood cancer.

"This, alongside the devoted care from the doctors, nurses and support staff in this small specialised unit, has been instrumental in my husband's ongoing recovery."

King's College Hospital NHS Trust said the move "would support equity of access to specialist haematology cancer care for all Bromley patients" and "give patients faster access to cutting-edge treatments and the latest clinical trials".

It added that no final decisions had been made and the Chartwell unit would remain open to support cancer patients under any new proposals.

A spokesperson added: "The proposals we are developing include bringing all haematology inpatient cancer care provided by the trust together at King's College Hospital in Camberwell.

"In practical terms, this would mean haematology cancer inpatients currently cared for on Chartwell ward at the PRUH instead being treated at King's College Hospital, a specialist centre for haematological conditions.

"These proposals are being developed by hospital clinicians with the aim of improving care for patients."