THE GARDEN Suite chemotherapy unit is moving back to its permanent home at the Alexandra Hospital, Redditch, and could be ready to welcome patients by the end of next month.
The unit provides a range of outpatient chemotherapy treatments to cancer patients, mainly from Redditch and surrounding areas such as Bromsgrove.
It was temporarily relocated to Kidderminster Hospital during the Covid pandemic to protect patients using it from the risk of infection.
Now, Garden Suite is to get a new home at the Alexandra following the refurbishment of the hospital’s Ward 1, which is currently used as a discharge lounge for patients who are waiting to go home following an inpatient stay.
Building and decorating work at the Alexandra is now under way.
Once completed, around three quarters of Ward 1 will reopen as Garden Suite with the remaining area being used as a redesigned Discharge Lounge.
Chemotherapy services will also continue to be provided at Kidderminster and Worcestershire Royal Hospitals.
Lead Chemotherapy Nurse, Sam Toland, said: “We are delighted that the Garden Suite is going to be returning to the Alexandra hospital. Moving to Ward 1 will provide the opportunity to deliver care much closer to home for many patients, much sooner than expected which we know our patients will be very happy about.”
Matthew Hopkins, Chief Executive of Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust, which manages the Alexandra and Kidderminster Hospitals, as well as Worcestershire Royal, said; “Our priority has to be the safety of our patients, but we are also keen to provide care as close as home as possible for all our patients.
“We always said the Garden Suite move to Kidderminster was a temporary one, and that as soon as we could identify a suitable location, we would bring it back to the Alexandra.”
The Garden Suite’s current location at Kidderminster is Harvington Ward, which is a part of the site managed by the Herefordshire and Worcestershire Health and Care Trust.
The return of the Garden Suite to the Alexandra will enable the Health and Care Trust to explore options to use Harvington Ward to temporarily increase the number of community beds in Worcestershire to support the current urgent care pressures and explore options around a sustainable way forward.
Patients whose future appointments will be at the Garden Suite will be contacted directly.
