Building work close to completion at The Christie in Macclesfield

The exterior work on the construction of The Christie at Macclesfield cancer centre is nearing completion.

Windows, doors, the external cladding and the roof of the new £26m cancer centre are very close to being completed. It means that the building is ready for some key items of clinical equipment to be delivered, ready for installation.

The building is being clad in brass, to match the main entrance at The Christie’s Withington site to create a stunning architectural appearance for the cancer centre. 

The Christie at Macclesfield project remains on schedule and on budget for completion this year ready to treat the first patients in December 2021.

The director of capital and estates at The Christie, Stuart Keen, said: “We are very pleased with the progress that has been made on the building of The Christie at Macclesfield. This is a key phase of the project but there is still a lot of work to be done so that we are ready to welcome our first patients in December.”

The internal fitting out of the building is also progressing well with rooms taking shape and the installation of ceilings, doors, floor coverings, plumbing, electrical supplies, lighting, IT cabling, plastering and decorations. And the plant room, where all the lighting, power, heating and cooling for the building is provided, is nearing completion.

The main electricity supply for the site was connected in July. This involved laying over 500m of cable from a connection point by the hospital main entrance to a new substation in the cancer centre.

Outside the building, the new parking bays to the west side of the site are being developed and the patient drop off area and footpaths are taking shape. And the corridor that will provide an indoor link to the main Macclesfield District General Hospital is progressing well.

Students studying construction related courses at Macclesfield College were invited to the site earlier in the summer to give them an insight into what it is like working on a construction site.   

The Christie at Macclesfield will transform cancer care in Cheshire, the High Peak area of Derbyshire and parts of North Staffordshire, providing care closer to home for more than 1,500 existing Christie patients a year.

It will bring together essential cancer services into one purpose-built centre delivering local specialist access to radiotherapy, chemotherapy, holistic support and information services, outpatient care, palliative care and a wider range of clinical trials. Around 46,000 appointments per year will take place at the new centre.

Louise Stimson from The Christie charity said: “It is so exciting to see the building progressing this quickly. The Christie charity is aiming to raise £23m towards the £26m cost of this new cancer centre and we still need people’s support and donations.

“The new centre will deliver cancer care to the highest Christie standards, but closer to where patients live. Many patients currently travel to The Christie in South Manchester, putting tremendous pressure on them and their families at an already stressful time.

“As a charity, we were hit badly by COVID-19 and that directly impacts the support we can offer the hospital. We have never needed our supporters more because cancer didn’t stop during the pandemic.”

The construction of the new cancer centre is being carried out by VINCI Construction UK. Plans for the new cancer centre were approved by East Cheshire Council in September 2019.

For details of how you can support The Christie at Macclesfield fundraising appeal, go to:

www.christies.org/macclesfield

The Christie charity supports the work of The Christie NHS Foundation Trust providing enhanced services over and above what the NHS funds. This includes money for care and treatment, research, education and extra patient services. Gifts from the public make a huge difference to the care and treatment that The Christie is able to provide to patients and their families.

The Christie NHS Foundation Trust was the first specialist trust to be rated as ‘Outstanding’ twice (in 2016 and 2018) by the health regulator the Care Quality Commission (CQC). It referred to The Christie as ‘a leader in cancer care’ and ‘a pioneer in developing innovative solutions to cancer care.’ The CQC praised the Trust’s staff which it said ‘go the extra mile to meet the needs of patients and their families’ and that they were ‘exceptionally kind and caring.’ In 2017, the CQC rated The Christie as the best specialist trust in the country, and one of the top three trusts overall in England.