Pictured: Milton Keynes City Council Leader Cllr Pete Marland joins Chief Executive at Milton Keynes University Hospital Joe Harrison with colleagues and partners at the intended site for the radiotherapy centre.
Milton Keynes City Council is set to fund £5.7m for a new radiotherapy unit at Milton Keynes University Hospital, bringing the total it has given to the hospital for cancer and acute care to £15.7m.
The City Council has worked closely with the Milton Keynes University Hospital Trust for several years, using money that it raises from commercial developers as they build new homes to develop facilities and health services on the campus at Eaglestone.
Milton Keynes City Council is able to spend the contribution it negotiates from housebuilders on a range of facilities that would benefit local people as the city grows. It previously provided £5m towards the Hospital’s Maple Centre for emergency assessments and care which opened in late 2022, and £5m towards its bespoke Cancer Centre which opened in early 2020.
The new £5.7m adds a local radiotherapy unit to the Cancer Centre, meaning MK patients who currently have to travel to the Churchill Hospital in Oxford (often a three hour round trip) could instead receive essential treatment on their doorstep.
A decision to confirm the funding will be made on 17 January. The radiotherapy unit is planned to open as early as spring 2024.
One of the benefits of living in a growing city is to have specialist healthcare such as cancer care close to home, so we’re pleased to help the University Hospital unlock this important facility for local residents. £15m buys some state-of-the-art facilities which the team is making and will continue to make fantastic use of.
We are incredibly grateful for the support that we receive from Milton Keynes City Council. This partnership is helping us to provide fantastic new clinical facilities for some of our sickest patients. We look forward to continuing to work closely with the team at the Council as we develop our Radiotherapy Centre.