Building work restarts on new £15m hospital radiotherapy unit

The development at Eastbourne District General Hospital was stopped last December due to delays in getting final funding approval from the Department of Health.

The foundations and concrete bunkers which will house the radiotherapy machines, known as linear accelerators, have already been built.

The aim is to have the unit up and running by May.

Once completed the new radiotherapy centre will significantly reduce the need for cancer patients to travel longer distances for treatment.

At the moment, patients have to travel to the Royal Sussex County Hospital in Brighton or Maidstone in Kent.

The £15m investment, funded by Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals NHS Trust, will act as a satellite unit for the radiotherapy centre in Brighton.

Consultant oncologist Fiona McKinna said: “It is an exciting time to see building work recommence but most importantly it is great news for local cancer care.

“People who need radiotherapy often have to come in daily for a number of weeks. Opening a radiotherapy treatment centre in Eastbourne will make a very real, practical difference for some of our sickest patients, dramatically reducing the time they spend travelling at this difficult time.”

Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals NHS Trust interim chief executive Gillian Fairfield said: “I am determined to do all I can to ensure this work is carried out swiftly so that people can benefit from this new service as soon as possible.

“Having had radiotherapy for breast cancer myself, I know how tiring it can be and why it's so important not to have to travel too far."

East Sussex Healthcare chief executive Adrian Bull said: “The development of this new unit will bring radiotherapy into East Sussex for the first time.

“Almost half of all people with cancer need radiotherapy as part of their treatment.

“Patients across East Sussex will benefit from more convenient access to this state-of-the-art development.”