Clatterbridge Private Clinic offers life-saving and first-class treatment to patients from all walks of life and will be opening a new centre of excellence in Liverpool in 2020. Tony McDonough reports
For more than 60 years Clatterbridge Cancer Centre has become a byword for world class cancer care and now a multi-million pound project will see a transformation of cancer services in the Liverpool city region.
Clatterbridge Private Clinic has operated as a joint venture with Clatterbridge Cancer Centre in Wirral since 2013 and in those six years has offered life-saving and first-class treatment to patients from all walks of life and all around the world.
They have had access to the best medical experts, latest technology, drugs and treatments not yet available on the NHS and is leading in the treatment of Mesothelioma in the North West.
Clatterbridge Private Clinic offers a package of care unrivalled anywhere else in the UK. Now the clinic is embarking on a new project that will see its world class service offered on both sides of the River Mersey, with a brand new private clinic opening in the new Clatterbridge Cancer Hospital close to the new Royal Hospital site in Liverpool city centre.
This expansion, Clatterbridge Private Clinic says, will usher in a new era of cancer care with a clear focus on the individual needs of every patient. It will offer access to cutting-edge technology and a wider range than ever of the latest potentially life-saving medicines.
The clinic will release more details about the Liverpool facility early in the New Year and says its impact on cancer care in the city region will be transformational. Clinic manager, Jacqui McElhinney said: “We are very excited with this project. We think its impact will be huge and will take cancer treatments for the Liverpool city region onto a new level.
“At the private clinic we welcome people from all walks of life. There are individuals who self-fund their treatment and we also see patients with Private Medical Insurance, which is often funded by their employers.
“Our clinic is recognised by all the major UK insurers and our patients liaison team works directly with insurers to secure pre-authorisation for the wide range of treatments we offer. It takes away the worry of billing and payments.
“In recent months, here, we have seen people from senior company directors, to professionals in the performing arts to people working for local manufacturers. They appreciate the one-to-one focus and the high level of discretion we offer, accessing treatment at a time that suits them.
“We have seen people come first thing in the morning for their treatment and then leave again to go to work. We are taking all of that to Liverpool and pushing our clinical excellence to a whole new level.”
The Wirral clinic offers radiotherapy, chemotherapy, and other specialist treatments such as immunotherapy. It also offers treatments that are unique, such as Proton eye therapy for rare eye cancers and Papillion therapy for early rectal cancer.
Every treatment programme is tailored to each patients to ensure it is specifically appropriate to their condition and 49% of profits from the Clatterbridge Private Clinic is used to fund NHS treatment for cancer patients at the Clatterbridge Cancer Centre.