Construction begins on new cancer centre

The facility is being funded by Macmillan Cancer Support

Construction has begun on a £1.9m non-clinical support centre for cancer patients and their families at a Surrey hospital.

Funded by Macmillan Cancer Support, the facility at Ashford Hospital will be the first of its kind in north west Surrey.

Services to be provided at the new centre include counselling, complementary therapies, and emotional and financial support.

Sonia Sudhakar, Macmillan's chief engagement officer, says that having all these services under one roof "brings us one step closer" to ensuring every person with cancer receives the best support available.

The facility, which is the result of a collaboration between the charity and Ashford and St Peter's Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (ASPH), is now scheduled to open in late spring.

It was initially hoped that it would open late last year.

Louise Stead, group chief executive at the Royal Surrey NHS Foundation Trust, says this facility "complements the provision" at the trust.

"It will give our cancer patients a more holistic approach to living with and beyond cancer," she added.

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