Walsall NHS patients to receive urgent cancer care at private hospital
NHS patients in the Black Country are receiving cancer treatment at a private hospital under a new agreement.
The Walsall patients are receiving treatment at Spire Little Aston Hospital in Sutton Coldfield, under an agreement between Walsall Healthcare NHS Trust and Spire Healthcare, allowing the trust to focus on caring for Covid positive patients during the pandemic.
The partnership began in April and under the agreement, Spire is treating patients with a range of cancers, including breast, skin and gynaecological cancer.
Over 150 NHS patients have received cancer surgery at Spire Little Aston since the partnership began, and NHS clinicians have come over and performed surgery at the hospital for the first time.
Since mid May, Spire Little Aston has also started to play its part in reducing the increased NHS waiting list caused by the pandemic, by carrying out routine orthopaedic operations for Walsall NHS patients.
The partnership between Spire Healthcare and Walsall Healthcare NHS Trust has been made possible under a national agreement, which Spire, alongside the whole of the independent sector, has signed to make its staff, equipment and facilities available to the NHS at cost only to help alleviate the pressure caused by the pandemic.
Ed Ireland, hospital director at Spire Little Aston, said: “At a time when there is so much focus on tackling the coronavirus, it is vitally important that people who don’t have Covid-19 but are worried about their health, come forward for treatment.
“I’m pleased to say that we at Spire Little Aston are open and specially adapted to provide cancer care for NHS patients in a safe, Covid-free environment. We’re very proud to be working together with the NHS to do our best for patients in the Midlands, during this once-in-a-lifetime health crisis.”
Richard Beeken, Walsall Healthcare NHS Trust chief executive, said: “During this challenging time we have continued to provide care for those with life-threatening illnesses along with patients who have cancer and other urgent conditions.
“This partnership with Spire Little Aston has really helped our efforts to do so and given cancer patients an additional level of reassurance as many have been, understandably, anxious about coming into hospital during the pandemic.”
