£9m cancer centre opens
Dorset’s new
multi-million-pound state-of-the-art cancer treatment centre was
opened by Martin Clunes OBE this week.
The official opening at
Dorset County Hospital was on Wednesday night (12 December) with
almost 200 guests including charity donors, staff, patient
representatives and health officials watching as the actor revealed
the commemoration stone.
The £9 million centre is an extension of the Poole
Hospital-based Dorset Cancer Centre. The Dorchester unit is
equipped with the latest linear accelerator (LINAC) which enables
patients to receive the best-possible radiotherapy treatment. This
means that cancer patients in the north, south and west of the
county can receive this care in their local hospital, instead of
having to travel to Poole for treatment.
The facility
also includes a £1.75 million Cancer and Haematology Outpatients
Department funded by the Cancer Appeal run by Dorset County
Hospital Charity. This was supported by hundreds of donations from
individuals, community groups as well as Trusts and
Foundations.
This building has been funded in part by an extraordinarily
generous legacy from Poole businessman Robert White. Robert White
was treated for cancer at the Dorset Cancer Centre, part of Poole
Hospital, and sadly lost his battle in November 2015. Before his
death, he had resolved to support the hospital and its county-wide
cancer services to benefit others and decided that he would fund a
new cancer unit, now named The Robert White Centre.
Martin Clunes
said: “It was my privilege to be able to officially open the new
Robert White Centre.
“The
incredibly generous support from the community for the DCH Cancer
Appeal, as well as Robert’s generosity, leaves a remarkable legacy
for patients with cancer in Dorset.”
Dr Mike Bayne,
who treated Robert White and is oncology consultant at Poole
Hospital, joined guests at the official opening. He said: “It was a
privilege to be Robert White’s oncologist and I am delighted to see
that his amazing legacy has enabled the opening of the Robert White
Centre here today.
“His amazing
gift has enabled us to create cancer services which match the best
in the world and makes a step change in care for all our patients
and their families battling cancer.”
Simon Pearson, Head of Fundraising, DCH Charity, expressed
their thanks: “We have received extraordinary support from across
our community for the Cancer Appeal. Thank you to everyone for
their generosity. This support will benefit cancer patients at DCH
for years to come.”
The cancer
outpatients unit is already in operation and the new radiotherapy
unit is expected to open in early 2019. Overall, it is estimated
that each year around 5,000 cancer patients and their families will
benefit from the services in the centre.