Royal Surrey NHS Trust and LloydsPharmacy have announced a new partnership, offering cancer patients the opportunity to have their treatment administrated without visiting a hospital.
The service, which will be delivered through a new mobile healthcare unit, is part of the LloydsPharmacy Healthcare Centre concept launched in 2017. It aims to help NHS Trusts to provide more treatments outside of an acute hospital setting.
The mobile unit was officially launched earlier this month at an event attended by Dame Judi Dench.
Alison Ansell, Healthcare Development Manager, LloydsPharmacy said: “We understand that going through treatment can be a stressful time for patients, so providing alternative options where they have that treatment can help them feel more in control. Whether it’s in hospital or in a mobile unit, people should be able to choose to receive their care in an environment they feel most comfortable.
“We are incredibly proud to be working with Royal Surrey to provide this vital treatment for their patients and we hope that by working together we can release capacity for the hospital and most importantly, improve the patient experience.”
Patients who have safely undergone two treatments at Royal Surrey can only opt to use the mobile unit to ensure that their consultant can address any side effects that may occur.
The treatments include traditional chemotherapy and immunotherapy, which will be administrated by nurses from LloydsPharmacy Clinical Homecare. The service is initially made up of five courses of treatment, lasting no longer than three hours each time.
Supplied by cancer charity Tenovus, the purpose-built mobile unit features seven chemotherapy chairs, a relaxing therapy room, modern waiting area, kitchen and bathroom facilities. The fully furnished unit has all the equipment available at the main hospital sites.
Vicki Mumford, Divisional Head of Nursing for Oncology, said: “People are now living longer with cancer and this is testament to everybody who has worked to improve early diagnosis and treatment.
“By bringing chemotherapy into the community we are bringing our expert care and treatment closer to home, which should allow many to continue to lead more normal lives."
This is the fourth LloydsPharmacy Healthcare Centre and third mobile unit to launch since 2017. Once fully operational, the new mobile unit is expected to treat around 80 patients a week.
