THE first patient to be treated in a new multi-million pound radiotherapy unit was welcomed to the centre this month.

The new centre, at Basingstoke hospital, in Aldermaston Road, means that patients living locally will no longer have to make the 65-mile round trip to Southampton for radiotherapy treatment.

Pauline Wren, from Oakley, was the first patient to benefit.

She and her husband had expected to have to travel to Southampton each day for treatment.

Speaking after visiting the centre, she said: “It’s lovely having this facility on the doorstep. It makes it much easier and quicker to come for my daily treatment. After my treatment today, my husband and I are planning to go out for lunch – that is much more relaxing than grabbing a sandwich from the hospital canteen to eat in the car on the way home from Southampton.

“The unit is lovely and brand new. It felt a bit strange knowing I was the first patient to be treated here but the staff soon put me at ease.”

Doctor Lara Alloway, clinical director, cancer services, said: “This fabulous new facility has been a long time coming but I am delighted to see it now up and running treating patients. We know that radiotherapy can make patients feel extremely tired. Our new unit means our patients from north and mid Hampshire can now have their treatment closer to home, saving them hours in the car and giving them a much better experience.”

The new unit is provided by Hampshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and offers the most up-to-date radiotherapy treatments available.

It is part of a two phase development of cancer services – phase two will see a larger cancer treatment centre built in the future.

Holly Hall, radiotherapy services manager, said: “We use a CT scanner to accurately plan with millimetre precision the radiotherapy treatment. This was bought with money raised by the North Hampshire Medical Fund’s Pinpoint Appeal and local charity RadCan, and we are very grateful for their fundraising efforts.”

Radiotherapy patients have free parking at the unit, which is staff by highly specialised and experienced clinicians, radiographers and physicists.