CHEMOTHERAPY will soon be available five days a week at the Princess Royal Hospital in Haywards Heath, making it easier for local patients to receive the vital care they need.

Chemotherapy treatment has been offered for two days each week at the Princess Royal for some time. While patients praise the care they receive, feedback has highlighted how difficult it can be to travel to Brighton for any treatment booked on the other three days. “Many of our patients live in Haywards Heath and the surrounding area,” said Leigh Harvey, Lead Cancer Nurse at both Princess Royal and the Royal Sussex Hospital in Brighton.

“Travel to Brighton has been a necessary part of their treatment, but they have told us that can be inconvenient, time consuming and tiring.”

Armed with this feedback and a determination to improve patient care, Leigh and the team set about expanding their service. She said: “When we started to examine how we could offer treatment five days a week, the benefits to our patients became self-evident.

“Less travel means less stress, less financial burden and more time to do everyday things which you can’t do from a traffic jam or train carriage.”

Increasing the availability of chemotherapy treatment in Haywards Heath also aligns with a national drive to provide cancer therapy close to home wherever possible. Although some patients will still need to travel to Brighton for more complex therapies, the majority of local patients will be able to be treated at their most local, convenient, hospital.

Leigh said: “Later in the year, we’re also going to be offering a wider range of supportive therapies from the hospital to help our patients further improve their quality of life.”