Our new Mobile Cancer Care Unit (MCCU) to support patients in Norfolk and Waveney has been launched and will now provide treatments at several locations in the county and north-east Suffolk.
The team at Morrisons in Beccles
Over the next few months the Unit, a collaboration between the charity Hope for Tomorrow, the James Paget University Hospital, the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital and Norfolk & Waveney CCG (Clinical Commissioning Group), will be travelling to towns and villages to take treatment out into our local communities, closer to where patients live.
The Unit will be in Beccles, in the Morrisons store car park, on Tuesdays and at Martham, in the fire station car park, on Thursdays, from April 1, treating chemotherapy patients. It will soon be at Cromer Hospital the rest of the week to provide Acute Oncology Services for those receiving cancer treatments.
The team in the car park at Martham fire station
The mobile unit is owned and maintained by Hope for Tomorrow (HfT), a charity which aims to bring cancer treatment closer to home, and will be staffed by specialist nurses from Haematology and Oncology Units at the James Paget and Norfolk and Norwich.
The vehicle includes a mobile chemotherapy unit and infusion pumps as well as a kitchen area and patient toilet. During the current pandemic, treatments will be limited to three patients at a time in order to maintain social distancing but the unit would normally be able to accommodate four.
Julie Buckenham, Macmillan Cancer Lead Nurse at the James Paget University Hospital, said; “We are pleased to be working with our partners to provide our patients with the opportunity to have their chemotherapy and supportive treatments closer to home.
“The pandemic has brought a number of challenges and the mobile unit will give us the opportunity to take a positive step to providing cancer treatments in local communities, saving patients from having to travel to the James Paget or the Norfolk & Norwich.”
Jo Richardson, Macmillan Lead Cancer Nurse at the Norfolk and Norwich Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, said; “We are delighted to be working across Norfolk & Waveney with our partners at the James Paget Hospital to provide enhanced chemotherapy and acute oncology care to our patients.
“We are continuously trying to improve accessibility to our services and improve patient experience and we hope this new Unit will help us achieve these aims.”
The Transforming Cancer Community Care project started in July 2020 and aims to enable cancer patients to access care and treatment closer to home, in a calm and safe environment, so they don’t need to travel so far or come into the acute hospital environment. The designated locations have free and accessible parking.
Sheryl Rumble, Community Champion at Morrisons in Beccles said; “Morrisons is proud to be at the heart of our communities, and having the mobile cancer unit here will mean so much to our local community members. This will cut their travel times and make a real difference to those living with cancer. We are so proud that Morrisons are able to support such a great cause and send our best wishes to all patients receiving treatment on board.”
Assistant Chief Fire Officer Tim Edwards said: “We are pleased to be able to offer a location for the unit in Martham, so that local patients can access treatment during a difficult time, without having to travel.”
15 March
A new Mobile Cancer Care Unit (MCCU) to support patients in Norfolk and Waveney will be launched this week and will soon be providing treatments at several locations in the county and north-east Suffolk.
Over the next few months the Unit, a collaboration between the charity Hope for Tomorrow, the James Paget University Hospital, the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital and Norfolk & Waveney CCG (Clinical Commissioning Group), will be travelling to towns and villages to take treatment out into our local communities, closer to where patients live.
From tomorrow, Tuesday 16 March, the Unit will be in Beccles, in the Morrisons store car park, on Tuesdays and at Martham, in the fire station car park, on Thursdays treating chemotherapy patients. It will soon be at Cromer Hospital the rest of the week to provide Acute Oncology Services for those receiving cancer treatments.
The mobile unit is owned and maintained by Hope for Tomorrow (HfT), a charity which aims to bring cancer treatment closer to home, and will be staffed by specialist nurses from Haematology and Oncology Units at the James Paget and the Norfolk and Norwich.
The vehicle includes a mobile chemotherapy unit and infusion pumps as well as a kitchen area and patient toilet. During the current pandemic, treatments will be limited to three patients at a time in order to maintain social distancing but the unit would normally be able to accommodate four.
Suzy Horth, Cancer Project Manager for Norfolk & Waveney CCG Community Cancer Nursing, said; “I am really excited to be part of this joint project working closely with JPUH and NNUH cancer teams and the Hope for Tomorrow charity in developing the ‘Transforming Cancer Community Care’ initiative. The mobile unit means we are bringing cancer care out into the community, to make it easier and less stressful for patients, giving them the option to receive their care closer to home, and improving the experience during their treatment.”
Tina Seymour, Chief Executive of Hope for Tomorrow, said; “Throughout the pandemic the importance of Hope for Tomorrow’s Mobile Cancer Care Units has been more evident than ever before. We were delighted to be able to provide the unit on a temporary basis to ensure continuity of cancer care for patients in a safe, convenient environment and reduce the time and distance involved for patients when accessing their treatment.”
The Transforming Cancer Community Care project started in July 2020 and aims to enable cancer patients to access care and treatment closer to home, in a calm and safe environment, so they don’t need to travel so far or come into the acute hospital environment.
The designated locations have free and accessible parking.
Staff and patient familiarisation has been taking place recently as well as ‘trial runs’ to sites, with the mobile unit accompanied by a Nurse Support Vehicle for staff to travel in.
