Macmillan Cancer Support invests £2.2 million to support growing number of people living with cancer in North Norfolk

A £4.15million proposal to build a state-of-the-art cancer care and support centre at Cromer and District Hospital has been unveiled today.

Macmillan Cancer Support has been working with Norfolk and Norwich University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust to develop proposals for the centre.

In the 2015 local cancer strategy, potential demand for cancer services within the Trust was forecast to increase by over 200% over ten years.

Currently most people from the Cromer area have to travel to Norwich for treatment and the new centre will enable more people to access cancer treatment and support closer to home.

The building, which will see the refurbishment and extension of a disused ward, will be called the North Norfolk Macmillan Centre.

The centre, on the site of the former Davison Unit, will include:

• Six chemotherapy treatment chairs with capacity to treat up to 36 patients a day.
• Three new clinic rooms and two new minor procedure rooms, creating an additional 10,000 outpatient appointments annually.
• A Macmillan cancer information and support centre.
• The new unit will also free up space in the main Cromer Hospital building to deliver an extra 600 surgical procedures in dermatology, urology, vascular surgery and pain management.

A planning application will be submitted later this year and, if granted, the building work is expected to take around a year.

The majority of funding for the centre will come from Macmillan Cancer Support, which is providing up to £2.2 million and Norfolk and Norwich Hospitals Charity, which is contributing £1.5million. The remaining £450,000 is coming out of NNUH Trust funds.

Gwyneth Tyler, Macmillan Head of Services for South and East England, said: “The number of people living with cancer is growing and predicted to rise from 2.5million today to four million by 2030[ii] This centre will help to meet the growing need in North Norfolk and enable more people to get treatment and support closer to home.

“At Macmillan, we also know that cancer can affect every part of your life, not just your health and that’s why the centre will include a Macmillan Cancer Information & Support Service.

“We are delighted to be working with the Trust to improve cancer care for people in North Norfolk but we can only do so thanks to the public’s generous support for Macmillan. As a charity, we are entirely reliant on public donations and need the public’s continued support to enable us to be there for the growing number of people with cancer.”

Mark Davies, NNUH Chief Executive, said: “This is an amazing first step in a joint partnership with Macmillan which will deliver clear benefits for our patients. It represents a significant investment for the Trust and the N&N Hospitals Charity, totalling nearly £2million and confirms the importance of Cromer Hospital in our plans to increase capacity.

“Working together on this new development with Macmillan is an important part of our cancer strategy to expand services and meet the needs of patients living in this rural county.”

Professor Erika Denton, NNUH Medical Director, said: “Our cancer centre is one of the largest in the UK, treating 6,000 patients each year. We deliver a range of specialist services across Norfolk and further afield. Although patients will still need to come to Norwich for some of their appointments, this is a fantastic opportunity to deliver more care closer to people’s homes and reduce the number of journeys to Norwich.”

Currently, Cromer Hospital provides a range of acute out-patient and day case services and has a minor injuries unit.