Milton Keynes University Hospital held a topping-out ceremony last Thursday 4th July for its new £15m Cancer Centre which is due to be finished in November 2019.
The final shovel of cement was laid to officially complete the internal structure of the new centre, which will bring significant improvements to the treatment of cancer patients in Milton Keynes and the surrounding areas by bringing together under one roof all of the services currently provided across three locations on the hospital site.
The topping-out ceremony, which is a builders’ tradition to mark the highest point of a new building, was attended by Milton Keynes Mayor Councillor Sam Crooks, Alexander Boswell – a Milton Keynes Vice-Lord Lieutenant for Buckinghamshire – and MKUH Chairman Simon Lloyd, as well as MKUH staff, all of whom were given a tour of the under-construction facility as part of the ceremony to celebrate the important milestone.
The centre will offer a wide range of information and support services to anyone affected by cancer and will also mean that fewer cancer patients will need to travel to Northampton, Bedford or Oxford for their treatments, reducing the burden on patients and their families during already anxious and stressful times.
Facilities will also feature:
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Outpatient consultation rooms, procedure rooms and a specialist room to extract bone marrow -
A 24-bed inpatient ward (16 single en-suite rooms)
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Two two-bed bays and a four-bed assessment bay
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A Macmillan Information and Wellbeing Centre
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Holistic support and therapy treatment rooms
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Increased capacity and staffing to reduce waiting times
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Quiet rooms and family visiting rooms, a spacious and uplifting environment with beautiful landscaped gardens, and new artwork
The purple covering which currently sits over the cladding will eventually be removed to reveal a magnolia cream exterior.
MKUH Head of Cancer Sally Burnie said: “Many Milton Keynes residents will be able to receive more holistic treatment for cancer a lot closer to home when the new centre is open. It really is huge for MK and is absolutely needed in order to keep up with the growth in the area and help to provide the services for patients.”
MKUH Chairman Simon Lloyd said: “The new Cancer Centre is going to be a huge step towards improved cancer treatment services for patients in Milton Keynes and the surrounding areas, so the topping-out ceremony marks an exciting milestone for the construction project as we are now only four months away from the completion of the building. We look forward to the opening of the new centre as part of our commitment to delivering an even better service to cancer patients, which is part of the wider expansion of services at MKUH to cater for the rapidly growing community in Milton Keynes.”
Milton Keynes Hospital Charity continues with fundraising towards its £2.5m Cancer Centre Appeal – for further details on the appeal, or if you are interested in donating or holding a fundraising event, please visit the charity’s website.
