Cancer patients at QEHB are benefitting from a £1.5 million refurbishment project to dramatically improve their treatment environment.

Treatment room seven in the radiotherapy department has been re-opened after a nine-month refit including the installation of one of the first Elekta Versa HD linear accelerator machines in the region.

The Elekta Versa HD Linac can deliver a dose of radiation in a much shorter time than a conventional radiotherapy machine, increasing the number of patients that can be treated each day.

It also has the most advanced imaging system available which allows tracking of a tumour’s motion during treatment by performing a daily CT scan.

Any movement can then be taken into account as this image guided radiotherapy (IGRT) helps to reduce the amount of radiation given to normal tissues, which in turn reduces some of the long-term side effects for patients.

“This equipment offers the most advanced technology available, designed to improve patient care and treat a broader spectrum of cancers with high-precision beam shaping and tumour targeting abilities,” said radiotherapy deputy manager Caroline Williams.

“Around 40 per cent of cancer patients have radiotherapy and University Hospitals Birmingham is committed to having state-of-the-art technology for our patients.”

Wall art is also a prominent feature of the new treatment room as the radiotherapy team seek to make the environment as comfortable as possible for patients.

“As well as offering the highest quality and most advanced treatment available, we also place a strong emphasis on the patients’ experience and the striking art helps soften the impact of the large Linear accelerators,” added Caroline.