Consultation set to close on cancer centre serving patients in Hertfordshire and Buckinghamshire
Hertfordshire residents have just over two weeks to have their say on the proposed move of Mount Vernon Cancer Services to a new purpose-built site next to Watford Hospital.
In January, NHS England announced plans to add “world-class cancer services” to the Watford site to create a “centre of excellence”.
A public consultation runs until Sunday, March 29 and residents can have their say here.
Capital funding has already been agreed for the cancer centre’s proposed move. An artist’s impressions show it would be linked by a bridge to Watford Hospital.
A group of senior clinicians at Mount Vernon say they “strongly support” the proposal, adding: “Staff at Mount Vernon are very keen to move to the new centre.
“A state-of-the-art facility at Watford, with direct access to hospital services and the expertise and research capability of UCLH (University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust), offers the best future for patients and staff.
“We know Watford won’t be convenient for everyone, and it’s important the new centre includes what patients value most, such as green spaces and affordable parking. But in our view this move is essential to protect and improve cancer care for the future.”
Following concerns about sustainability, a review authorised in 2019 over the future of Mount Vernon Cancer Centre which judged its current location “not fit for purpose”.
The facility is attached to Mount Vernon Hospital in Northwood and provides cancer services to two million people from the East of England, London and the South East.
But the site has been criticised for its lack of acute services, meaning cancer patients often have to be transferred elsewhere if they have co-morbidities.
In May 2024, Jessamy Kinghorn, head of partnerships and engagement at NHS England, told Herts County Council there was “a big lack of other medical facilities at that site”.
She added: “There isn’t critical care, there isn’t high dependency, there’s no in-patients apart from the cancer beds.
“That has meant that patients with complex treatments have had to have these treatments elsewhere or have had to be transferred if their condition has deteriorated.
“For a patient who also has a heart condition, for example, there aren’t the facilities on the Mount Vernon site. There’s not the expertise you would have with a cardiology department on the same site.”