Chemotherapy services now available at Cromer Hospital

Patients living in North Norfolk are now benefiting from being able to receive chemotherapy treatments closer to home at Cromer Hospital.

Chemotherapy sessions are being offered on Thursday mornings in the Muriel Thoms Unit at Cromer Hospital to patients who need treatments which can be given at weekly or three weekly appointments. Patients previously had to travel to Norwich to receive this treatment.

Consultant Oncologist Dr Daniel Epurescu has been involved in setting up the service and said: “We are delighted that our patients who live in North Norfolk now have a choice to have their simple chemotherapy closer to home. We hope to be able to eventually expand the service so that more complex chemotherapy may also be offered. All the staff have worked very hard to enable this service to be offered.”

Sophie Cotton from Cromer chose to have her chemotherapy at Cromer Hospital. She said: “It is a great advantage coming to Cromer for people who live in the area, saving all the problems with transport and relying on the kindness of others to take you. It is a very pleasant atmosphere and the staff are friendly, so why wouldn't you want to come to Cromer?”

Anita Martins, Matron of Cromer Hospital, said: “Being able to expand the services at Cromer Hospital to include simple chemotherapy treatments closer to home for patients is a very exciting development for all the team involved.”
Lead Chemotherapy Nurse Debra Blackstone said: “Many patients receiving chemotherapy say their lives revolve around treatment and they struggle to maintain any semblance of normality. Chemotherapy provided closer to home at Cromer Hospital will alleviate some of the stress and anxiety experienced by patients at this time, improving the experience of our patients and maintaining the highest standard of care.”

MP for North Norfolk, Norman Lamb, added: “This is fantastic news for people living in North Norfolk and will make a real difference to patients and relatives at a difficult time in their lives. It is incredibly important to ensure that people are able to receive treatment as close to home as possible.”