Work to begin on £4m improvements to cancer centre

The cancer centre at Royal Stoke University Hospital is getting a new entrance, with a pharmacy and refreshments area also part of the plans (artist's impression)

Improvements are being made to a cancer centre to avoid patients having to walk uphill for refreshments and prescriptions.

The work at Royal Stoke University Hospital is costing £4m, with the majority being funded by the Denise Coates Foundation, said University Hospitals of North Midlands (UHNM) charity.

The centre is set to have new reception, with an outpatients pharmacy and a refreshments area also part of the plans.

Work is due to begin on Saturday, and expected to be complete by December.

“Currently patients and relatives visiting the inpatient ward, attending a clinic appointment or receiving chemotherapy treatment have little or no access to refreshment facilities," said Lisa Thomson from UHNM Charity.

The nearest refreshments meant a walk uphill outside the building, which for some patients was "extremely challenging".

Having a pharmacy for outpatients in the cancer centre would also mean people would no longer have a "significant" uphill walk to collect their drugs, she said.

The improvement works comprise a new entrance, pharmacy, a multi-purpose group room, two private rooms, an information centre, as well as the refreshment and waiting area.

Work on the new entrance was expected to be complete by the end of the year (artist's impression)

Of the £4m cost, £3.6m had come from the charitable foundation run by the boss of Bet365, Denise Coates.

UHNM charity was "delighted" by the amount donated, which was helping fund a "fantastic development," said Ms Thomson.

The cancer centre at Royal Stoke University Hospital opened in 2009, and diagnoses about 2,400 new cases of the disease each year.

As a result of the improvement work to the centre, the main entrance would no longer be available, with the new way in at the rear of the Lyme Valley Centre.