Chichester MP Gillian Keegan continues calls for better local cancer treatment

Gillian Keegan MP continued her ongoing campaign to introduce radiotherapy treatment at St Richard’s Hospital in Chichester.

The MP has been campaigning for a new centre to be established at the hospital since 2017.

In a recent letter to the new Chief Executive Officer of the University Hospitals Sussex NHS Foundation Trust, Dr George Findlay, Mrs Keegan explained that “there are no linear accelerator machines (LINAC) in the whole of West Sussex.”

These machines are used in over half of all cancer treatments, and currently, local people have to travel to neighbouring counties for treatment.

Mrs Keegan co-founded a cross-party group on radiotherapy to ensure improved access to this vital treatment across the country and specifically in Chichester.

Mrs Keegan letter references her previous work on this issue with the former trust CEO, Dame Marianne Griffiths – who had provided assurances that the trust was seeking support for the development of such a service in Chichester.