Weston Park: Minister urged to back £50m Sheffield cancer plan

The Weston Park Cancer Centre urgently needs refurbishment, according to the letter to Matt Hancock

Backers of a £50m plan to improve cancer treatment in South Yorkshire have written to Health Secretary Matt Hancock asking for his support.

Mayor and MP Dan Jarvis has joined 17 other MPs and council leaders who have written to the minister over plans for Sheffield's Weston Park Cancer Centre.

The specialist centre was "in urgent need of refurbishment", the cross-party letter to Mr Hancock said.

The Department of Health has been approached for a comment.

• More stories from Yorkshire

Mr Jarvis, Mayor of the Sheffield City Region, said the new multi-million pound plan "would deliver cutting-edge innovation through cancer treatment in novel chemotherapy, immunotherapy and radiotherapy".

The proposed investment at the Weston Park Cancer Centre would have "potential to significantly improve the outcomes of patients with cancer" in the area, he added.

Although cancer services had been maintained throughout the Covid-19 pandemic in South Yorkshire and Bassetlaw, there were about 7,000 fewer cancer referrals and 500 fewer cancers diagnosed between March and December 2020, according to the letter to the Health Secretary.

Kirsten Major, chief executive of Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, said the centre was one of four dedicated NHS cancer hospitals in England.

"We have some of the best cancer specialists in Europe working in the centre, but we need to match the facilities we have with that expertise in order to continue to deliver the most advanced care possible for patients", she added.