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A major milestone has been reached in the development of the new £2.65 million Haematology and Oncology Day Unit at Heartlands Hospital following the completion of construction.

The keys to the refurbished unit have been officially handed over by main contractors Speller Metcalfe, marking the start of the final phase of the project ahead of opening to patients in the spring.

Over the coming weeks, medical equipment will be tested, technology connected, the building fully fitted out, and staff inducted to ensure the unit is ready to welcome its first patients.

Located in the former ENT building, the new unit will bring together haematology and oncology services together under one roof. Designed with patients’ needs at its heart, the facility will include three additional procedure rooms, three new treatment chairs, a quiet area, and a dedicated patient entrance, creating a welcoming hone-from-home environment.

For staff, the development will provide significantly improved facilities, including a new staff room, changing areas, a seminar room, and dedicated office spaces, supporting multidisciplinary working and staff wellbeing.

Dawn Hambarsoonian, Haematology and Oncology Day Unit Manager, said: “It is fantastic to reach this point in the project with this refurbishment. There is still a great deal of work to be done to prepare for opening to patients, but we have a great team working on this, and we’re getting excited about moving in. We are looking forward to having a new space to treat patients in and being able to see more patients, sooner.

“Currently, around 200 patients are treated each week at Heartlands. With the additional space, we expect to treat approximately 400 patients a week. This is because we will increase the number of clinics we have from 38 to 45 a week. As we will have an additional isolation room, this means we can also expand on the type of procedures we do, such as bone marrow tests, line insertions and removals, and port insertions.”

Ed Landon, Operations Director, Heartlands Hospital, said: “This is a significant milestone for the project and will undoubtedly improve cancer care and the overall patient experience. An important part of this development is ensuring our staff have a much better environment to work in, and this facility will support stronger multi-disciplinary teamwork.

“I would like to thank colleagues across the clinical, estates, facilities, and IT teams, as well as our contractors and partners, who have worked together to ensure construction work was completed on time and on budget.”