Proton Beam Therapy (PBT) service opens

We are very pleased to see that the first patients have undergone proton beam therapy (PBT) at UCLH.  Now that PBT is available in two NHS centres in England (UCLH and The Christie) patients and their families and carers will no longer have to travel overseas for this advanced form of radiotherapy which is used to treat complex cancers.  You can read more about PBT treatment on the UCLH website here.

The PBT centre is located in the basement of the new Grafton Way Building, which is opening in phases from 2021.  A major construction and engineering challenge, the building has been a highly complex project, which has opened to patients despite the Covid-19 pandemic.  As well as PBT, the building is home to a short stay surgery centre and Europe’s largest centre for the treatment of blood disorders.

UCLH Charity funds have been used to enhance and uplift spaces to help improve the experience of patients undergoing PBT at the new facility.  This includes:

• Bespoke, age-appropriate furniture, toy storage and a ‘snug’ in the children’s waiting area which will help children about to undergo PBT feel more at ease and less anxious about their treatment – this was funded by UCLH Charity fund, Fight for Life
• Beautiful floral artwork to break up a long corridor, adding colour and distraction to a clinical space
• Moving image artwork on the pre-treatment rooms which will offer a range of different age appropriate options to put patients at ease through distraction

Your support has enabled us to make such a difference to patients at what can be a difficult, stressful time.  Our next fundraising campaign will focus on improving the environment for the thousands of patients who undergo radiotherapy at University College Hospital each year.

To help us make a visit to hospital that bit better, please support us by making a donation to UCLH Charity via the donate button or here. Thank you, together we can do more.