Liverpool's first dedicated cancer hospital opens

Liverpool's branch of the Clatterbridge Cancer Centre is part of a £162m investment

Liverpool's first dedicated cancer hospital has officially opened.

The new branch of the Clatterbridge Cancer Centre network will treat inpatients from Saturday before opening to outpatients on Monday.

Regional mayor Steve Rotheram said it was "good news in these current testing times when NHS resources have been so stretched dealing with coronavirus".

The city has some of the highest rates of cancer in England, Liverpool University has said.

It added that cancer mortality in Merseyside and Cheshire is 76% higher than the European average.

'Labour of love'

A spokesman for the Clatterbridge Cancer Centre network said it treated more than 30,000 patients each year, and would continue at its existing sites in Wirral, Aintree and other hospitals in the region.

The 11-storey hospital, which is part of a £162m project to improve cancer care on Merseyside, is situated near Royal Liverpool University Hospital and the University of Liverpool medical school.

A spokeswoman said the 110 en-suite patient rooms would help "patients whose immune systems mean they are particularly vulnerable to infection".

Dr Liz Bishop, chief executive of The Clatterbridge Cancer Centre NHS Foundation Trust, said the new hospital had been "a huge labour of love".

"Clatterbridge Cancer Centre in Liverpool is the culmination of an eight-year vision for transforming cancer care in a region with one of the highest rates of cancer in the country," she added.