Cancer Information and Support Centre for Bolton

Feedback from a public meeting held in 2005 gave a clear indication of a locally unmet need around the provision of information and support for cancer patients and their carers and also for the wider general public on issues such as screening and cancer awareness.

In pursuit of this goal a Working Party comprising representatives from NHS Bolton - the Primary Care Trust, the Royal Bolton Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, Macmillan Cancer Support, cancer patients and carers have been developing a business case for the proposed centre and have received the first Architect’s drawings of how the Centre might look. At the point at which the final meeting in the Feasibility Study being undertaken by Macmillan was due to have taken place, NHS Bolton withdrew their support of the project.

Whilst we remain hopeful of a successful bid to Macmillan for building costs and several years running costs, the project is dependent on assurances of having the running costs picked up once their pump-priming comes to an end, which is where NHS Bolton would come in; as Commissioners of our local Health Services and decision makers on how the budget for such is spent, it would fall to them to pick up these costs.

Cancer will indiscriminately touch the lives of 1 in 3 people; of the several thousand local people referred for suspected cancer last year alone, 1430 people received a cancer diagnosis at the Royal Bolton Hospital. Nothing can change the devastating impact of a cancer diagnosis but much can be done to support and empower patients and their families throughout the journey With the number of people being diagnosed on the increase, plus improvements in treatment and screening, there are a growing number of people who could potentially benefit from this facility, not to mention the advantages of such a resource to the wider general public.

Over 300 people visited Macmillan Cancer Support’s Mobile Unit during its last two visits to the town; the need is out there.