THOUSANDS of cancer patients in Gwent and surrounding areas will receive potentially lifesaving radiotherapy treatment at a new centre at Abergavenny’s Nevill Hall Hospital - possibly from autumn 2023 - if the Welsh Government approves a £30 million plan.

A Radiotherapy Satellite Centre, several years in the planning, would be built at Nevill Hall as part of a wider programme to improve cancer services in south east Wales.

The aim is to increase radiotherapy capacity to better meet current and future demand, and to encourage more patients to opt for the treatment.

The centre would have two linear accelerators (linacs) to deliver more than 15,000 radiotherapy fractions (doses), a year. It would support the work done at the Velindre Cancer Centre in Cardiff, itself earmarked for replacement, where all radiotherapy for south east Wales cancer patients is currently carried out.

Radiotherapy uptake among the region's cancer patients is 37 per cent - the best practice benchmark is 41 per cent - suggesting patients who might benefit are not receiving it.

Travel time to and from a radiotherapy centre is a key factor in uptake - diminishing the further away a patient lives - given such treatment can be daily or several times a week over a period of weeks.

A journey of 45 minutes or less is considered appropriate, and a satellite centre supporting Velindre would mean a trip inside that timeframe for more people in south east Wales.

An outline business case newly submitted to the Welsh Government by Aneurin Bevan University Health Board and Velindre NHS Trust forecasts that, given the success rate of radiotherapy in treating cancer, around 115 more lives a year could be saved by greater uptake at a centre at Nevill Hall, this number rising as demand increases.

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It also states there will be space at Nevill Hall for two more linacs based on demand.

The aim is to have the centre ready by late summer or autumn 2023, depending on Welsh Government approval and the time that takes. But timing is vital, given the new Velindre Cancer Centre is unlikely to be ready by then, so the extra capacity will be key to maintaining treatment levels.

Health board director of planning, digital and IT, Nicola Prygodzicz, said the radiotherapy satellite centre is a fundamental part of future plans for Nevill Hall to become a key location for the delivery of cancer therapies, including chemotherapy, radiotherapy, outpatients and general supportive care, outside of surgical treatment for cancer, which will continue at Grange University Hospital, the Royal Gwent and Ysbyty Ystrad Fawr.

"This is one of four key projects that form part of a transforming cancer services programme led by Velindre NHS Trust," said

"It forms a critical part of solutions to increase radiotherapy capacity for south east Wales to meet future demand.

"It is quite critical that it comes online in advance of the new Velindre Cancer Centre, in order to do that."

Independent health board member Paul Deneen said the centre will enhance patient services and reduce the effect of 'misery miles' - the long distances travelled by many patients to and from Velindre, from areas such a north Gwent.

Fellow independent board member, Torfaen councillor Richard Clark, said the scheme demonstrates the health board's "commitment to the Nevill Hall Hospital site".

"There is a lot of speculation, with the (Grange) University Hospital, that for whatever reason we are going to abandon that part of Monmouthshire, and I know that is clearly not true," he said.

"But for the rumour merchants and Facebook experts and all of that, this shows our commitment to that site and it shows our commitment to people suffering from cancer, and bringing the care closer to home for them and their relatives."