Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust in landmark partnership with Rutherford Cancer Centre
The Rutherford Cancer Centre North East and Northumbria Healthcare has announced a landmark partnership that will see NHS cancer patients treated at the Rutherford Centre in Bomarsund.
The partnership applies to chemotherapy patients and is designed to help the trust ensure treatments for cancer patients are not delayed. Initially, the Rutherford Cancer Centre will treat breast cancer patients with chemotherapy – an estimated 120-150 patients a year.
The Rutherford Cancer Centre North East offers a range of advanced cancer treatments including chemotherapy, immunotherapy, radiotherapy and proton beam therapy as well as diagnostic services.
Chris Land, Centre Manager at the Rutherford Cancer Centre North East, said: “We are delighted to have formalised this partnership with Northumbria Healthcare that will ensure patients who need chemotherapy in the region do not face delays. The North East has some of the highest incidences of cancer in the UK and partnerships such as this are important in ensuring better patient outcomes in the region.”
“The efforts of both our organisations are centred around patients having access to the most advanced treatments and precision radiotherapy.”
The Rutherford Cancer Centre North East
Sir James Mackey, chief executive of Northumbria Healthcare, said: “We are very pleased to announce this partnership which will provide tremendous benefits for cancer patients across the region and is part of our on-going commitment to provide outstanding care to everyone who needs it – complementing the services we already provide from Northumbria.
“No one wants to wait for treatment especially when they have been diagnosed with cancer – it can be an anxious time for patients and their loved ones. Working with the Rutherford Cancer Centre will ensure our patients get timely access and state of the art treatment.”
Mike Moran, CEO of Proton Partners International, the company that operates the Rutherford Cancer Centres, said: “It is hugely encouraging to see the private and public sectors working collaboratively to improve outcomes for cancer patients in the North East. Earlier this year we struck a similar partnership with the Welsh Government to provide proton beam therapy services to adult Welsh NHS patients and it is evident that working together is beneficial to patients.”
