Fast track unit opens at Marsden but repairs will take another year
THE Royal Marsden cancer hospital today opened a pioneering centre offering "fast track" treatment.
The £6million unit in Chelsea will provide diagnosis within hours for skin cancer, breast tumours and patients with a family history of the disease.
It has equipment that enables cancer specialists to provide quick results from biopsies and tissue samples.
This means patients referred by GPs will no longer be seen in outpatient clinics with those already undergoing treatment.
The "Rapid Diagnostic and Assessment Centre" is funded by the Royal Marsden Cancer Campaign and is located in a separate building from the main hospital.
Chief executive Cally Palmer said the centre would provide a "welcoming" environment for patients.
She said: "The RDAC allows us to offer patients results more quickly, avoiding stressful waits and repeated visits. The Centre is dedicated to patients awaiting diagnoses, providing a welcoming and relaxed environment away from the main hospital. When cancer is diagnosed, treatment can start earlier, helping to save more lives."
The RDAC opening comes less than a year after the hospital was hit by a serious fire which caused extensive damage to wards. Investigators have still not published their report into the cause of the fire in January.
Ms Palmer revealed it would be a year before the rebuilding work was complete.
A third of patients are being treated at a special mobile unit at the Marsden centre in Sutton, Surrey.
Speaking for the first time since the fire, the chief executive told the Standard: "Everything is now back to normal and our treatment services are back up to speed.
"But it will be probably a year before rebuilding is complete. This means we are using a mobile unit down in Sutton for some patients.
"The fire was an opportunity in a way because it meant we could review any outdated facilities." The Marsden was the first hospital in the world dedicated to cancer treatment and research into the causes of the disease.
It forms the largest cancer centre in Europe with the Institute of Cancer Research and treats around 40,000 patients a year from the UK and abroad.
