Cancer care unit shut for two years finally reopens

Chemotherapy centre was closed because of staff shortages

A cancer ward has finally reopened at the William Harvey Hospital after nearly two years.

The Celia Blakey Day Unit has moved into the former Arundel unit after a £200,000 refurbishment.

Staff shortages saw the chemotherapy ward close in July 2015 and patients were forced to travel to Canterbury for treatment.

A mobile chemotherapy unit parked in the Ashford hospital car park while health bosses worked to recruit enough staff to reopen a permanent ward.

Now Eleanore Quadri, Macmillan consultant nurse and senior matron on the ward, said the team are delighted with the new space, which has been a long time coming.

Mrs Quadri, who has worked for East Kent Hospitals Trust, which runs the William Harvey Hospital, for about five years, said: “We have been waiting for this for a long time and a lot of Eleanore Quadri, Macmillan consultant nurse and senior matron and Travey Rigden, chemotherapy matron at the refurbished Celia Blakey Day Unit hard work has gone into getting it to where it is today.

“The staff have been really involved in the refurbishment process and able to say what will and will not work. I’m so pleased, it looks exactly how I envisaged it.

“The mobile chemotherapy unit, which was supported by the charity Hope For Tomorrow, served a purpose but it was just so cramped and the chairs were so close to each other.

“This new unit will improve a patient’s experience when they are going through chemotherapy, it’s bringing treatment closer to their homes and it also ensures they have a good facility to be treated from.”

Tracey Rigden, chemotherapy matron who has worked for the Trust for about 20 years, said she is privilaged to have been able to see this bespoke project through from start to finish.

She said: “Not many people get to help build a purpose-designed ward for cancer patients in their career and it’s been an honour to do so.

“We are just so thankful to all of the teams and the builders because we feel that we now have such an amazing area to work from that’s not only going to benefit the patients but also improve the morale for the staff because they can’t wait to get back here as well.”

‘I’m so pleased, it looks exactly how I envisaged it