The UK's new multi-million pound cancer centre in Carlisle has reached a major project milestone.

Contractor GRAHAM hosted a turf-cutting ceremony on the Cumberland Infirmary site last week to mark the beginning of construction.

The £35 million project will see the firm work in partnership with North Cumbria Integrated Care NHS Foundation Trust and the Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust to create a modern state-of-the art environment for staff, patients, carers and their relatives.

It will house a chemotherapy day unit with 15 treatment chairs and three single bedrooms, two linear accelerator (LINAC) radiotherapy machines and a CT scanner suite as well as consultation, examination rooms and a small café area.

Once complete, it will also bring all of North Cumbria's oncology services under the same room for the first time so patients will no longer have to receive cancer treatment in different parts of the hospital.

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GRAHAM was on hand to host a turf-cutting ceremony on the site last week to mark the beginning of construction.

James Mulroy, GRAHAM Contracts Manager, said: "GRAHAM has a strong track record of construction across the healthcare sector and we are delighted to be delivering a project that will have such a positive impact on the local community.

"After 18 months of designing and prepping, the turf-cutting ceremony marks a major milestone in the construction process, as we officially break ground on the project and can now begin to build. The new centre will play a vital role in improving facilities and services available to clinicians, patients and families across the region. We look forward to delivering the new centre in spring 2021, ahead of the planned opening in the autumn."

The new facility will be run by Newcastle Hospitals as part of the Northern Centre for Cancer Care. Newcastle oncology specialists will work with the existing teams to provide additional resilience to the service.

Newcastle Hospitals' Executive Chief Nurse, Maurya Cushlow, added: "We are really excited that, in partnership with North Cumbria, we are now starting to see this ambitious project come to life on the Infirmary site.

"It also demonstrates our shared vision and long-term commitment to delivering high quality, clinically safe and sustainable cancer services to the people of North Cumbria."

The centre is planned to open in autumn 2021.

(CM/JG)