Cancer care for Warwickshire patients moves to top level

The University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust, which runs the site in Coventry, has introduced Intensity Modulated RadioTherapy (IMRT), which allows radiotherapy to be targeted much more specifically than previous treatments, meaning that patients with tumours that are difficult to reach can be treated for the first time.

The treatment also allows for higher doses of therapeutic radiation to be used, which increases the chances of success.

The Government has so much confidence in IMRT that it has asked hospitals to use the treatment for 24 per cent of their population - a target that the University Hospital already achieved last summer.

The trust has also recently spent more than £1.8 million on buying a new linear accelerator - the machine used to deliver radiotherapy to patients, complementing the use of a similar machine that will soon be ready for use.

Dr Spyros Manolopoulos, the trust’s strategy lead for radiotherapy physics, said: “The team is very proud to bring these state-of-the-art machines that will allow for more cutting edge treatments to be provided to our patients and enable the introduction of new advanced treatments currently not offered by our centre.”

Radiation therapy manager Linda Farthing added: “This is a fantastic treatment which makes a real difference to our patients.

“Patients with cancer are often scared and stressed about what options they have for treatment so we are proud that at the University Hospital, we can offer this cutting edge technology to them.”

The trust’s chief executive Andy Hardy said the new treatment and machines used together mean that the hospital is able to provide “internationally-renowned care” for patients in the Coventry and Warwickshire area.