A new mobile chemotherapy unit for Wiltshire could be making its way to Westbury should there be a need.
The unit comes as a result of charity Hope for Tomorrow wishing to bring cancer treatment closer to home in rural areas. They have supplied both Gloucestershire and Somerset with mobile chemotherapy units and are expected to hand over a further unit to NHS Wiltshire in March of this year.
With three hospitals serving the Westbury area, the Great Western Hospital in Swindon, the Royal United Hospital in Bath and Salisbury District Hospital, a spokesperson for the charity said that Westbury would make an ideal location for the unit to visit.
“We commission build on vehicles to be used in places that are served by community hospitals,” the spokesperson said. “The geographical location of Westbury would make it a strong possibility.
“The unit is capable of treating medium and low risk patients. The area it serves is determined by how many people are eligible to be treated, so if there is a need for the mobile unit, I should imagine it would serve that area.”
The mobile chemotherapy unit would be built and maintained by Hope for Tomorrow and operated by NHS Wiltshire.
An NHS spokesperson said that it was too early to say whether the mobile unit would visit Westbury. She said, “Unfortunately we can’t say at this stage where the unit will be visiting.”
It is understood that talks are under way with the Great Western Hospital Trust to determine the route of the mobile unit.