Certain cancer treatments can temporarily weaken the immune system. This is particularly the case with chemotherapy.  As a result cancer patients are more susceptible to contracting Covid-19, and so two weeks ago we made the decision to postpone routine, planned cancer surgeries and chemotherapy for patients where the risk to the patient of postponing the treatment was less than the potential threat of them catching Covid-19.

Since we took that decision we have been developing a robust plan, so we can continue to treat and protect our most vulnerable patients in the safest way possible.

For the majority of our patients radiotherapy treatments are continuing as normal. For some patients their treatment start date has been postponed; where this has happened, it is with the agreement of a consultant that it can be done safely with no adverse impact on the outcome of the patient's treatment.

We are still accepting new referrals from GPs and have put appropriate diagnostics in place that are in line with national guidance being implemented across the NHS. This means procedures such as endoscopy and biopsies will remain suspended for now, but we will continue to use X-ray, MRIs and CT scans.

A lot of planning has been developed with partner NHS organisations and the independent sector to review the best approach for delivering surgical treatments for our patients. While non-urgent surgeries are still postponed, we will be working collaboratively with our partners to carry out essential surgeries based on clinical need. This will be in line with national and local guidance and may not be done in our own hospitals.

We have also worked with the independent sector to secure space at Spire Hartswood, in Brentwood. This environment will have a much reduced risk for our patients of catching Covid-19, and will be used to treat our chemotherapy patients from Monday 6 April, although there will be a transition period where we continue treating some patients at Queen’s Hospital. We will also still continue to treat our most critical leukaemia patients at Queen’s Hospital, and have made improvements to our Sunflower Suite to safeguard them further from risks of infection.

During this two week period many of our patients have expressed their thanks and relief that we have not put them at further risk. We would like to now thank them for their patience and want to reassure everyone we are taking every possible measure to safeguard and protect our patients. We will continue to review our services and adapt them as necessary, and will provide the best possible treatment for each patient based on their clinical need and in line with national guidance.