A NEW state-of-the-art hospital unit for patients receiving chemotherapy treatment has opened this week.
Staff at the hospital’s Millbrook Suite at Kidderminster Hospital completed their move to a revamped unit on Monday morning (May 20) and opened the doors to the first group of patients the same afternoon.
The new home for the Millbrook Suite, in A Block at Kidderminster Hospital, is in a unit which was completely refurbished to provide a temporary base for chemotherapy services that were relocated from the Alexandra Hospital in Redditch, during the Covid pandemic.
The unit has been unoccupied since those services returned to the Alexandra but is now back in use for cancer patients from Kidderminster and the surrounding areas.
Among the first patients in the relocated Millbrook Suite was Linda Amor, currently receiving regular chemotherapy for bone marrow cancer.
Members of the Millbrook Suite team (Image: Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust)
She has made frequent visits to the unit during different stages of her treatment over the past four years.
Monday’s visit came five days into her latest round of seven consecutive days of chemotherapy.
Ms Armor, aged 75, from Bewdley, praised the Millbrook Suite staff.
She said: “They are absolutely fantastic – they are literally keeping me alive and the treatment they are giving me means I can enjoy spending more time with my 11 grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.
"The new unit is marvellous, but I’m sure any contributions to making it even nicer would be gratefully received.”
Sam Toland, the lead chemotherapy nurse for Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust, said: “We are really pleased to have moved the Millbrook Suite into its new home. We have a wonderful team who provide a fantastic chemotherapy service at Kidderminster, and they are excited about being able to move into a much more modern, light and spacious environment where they can provide an even better experience for our patients, many of whom are receiving long term care and make regular visits to us".
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