Improvements planned for new Christie-led services for blood cancer patients at Leighton Hospital

Blood cancer patients in Crewe and Mid Cheshire now benefit from local access to the care and expertise of one of Europe’s leading cancer centres, The Christie.

From 1st April 2025, the clinical haematology service at Leighton Hospital, part of Mid Cheshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, came under the responsibility of The Christie NHS Foundation Trust.

Patients will still get their routine treatment locally at Leighton Hospital, and many of the clinical staff they see will already be familiar faces, including the lead clinician, Georgina Talbot. Georgina will lead a team of experienced consultant haematologists, advanced and specialist nurses, and administrative staff will be based at Leighton Hospital.

The Christie aims to improve the performance of the service, for example, by reducing waiting times for appointments. It also hopes to deliver a better patient experience, including more access to clinical trials.

Patients will be offered outpatient clinics for haematology-oncology and general haematology, chemotherapy treatments through the onsite Macmillan Unit, and day case procedures such as blood transfusions through the Planned Admissions Unit.

Inpatients at Leighton Hospital will benefit from access to expert advice from The Christie's consultant haematologists. Patients requiring complex or specialist care will be transferred to The Christie in Withington.

The service expects to care for around 1,100 newly diagnosed patients, provide 10,000 follow-up appointments, and deliver 1,800 outpatient systemic anti-cancer therapy treatments each year.

The haematology service at Leighton is the latest to join The Christie’s haematology network, which also includes The Christie at Macclesfield, Tameside General Hospital, and the core haematology team in Withington.

Patients from Tameside and the Macclesfield area have already benefitted from the network, which aims to deliver the highest standards of care for patients with both malignant and non-malignant haematological conditions.

Dr Faye Sharpley, Clinical Director for Haematology and Teenage & Young Adult (TYA) services at The Christie, said: “We are excited to be taking on the responsibility for the haematology service at Leighton Hospital. This development marks a further step in our commitment to delivering specialist care closer to patients' homes while maintaining the high standards associated with The Christie.

“Leighton now joins Tameside and The Christie at Macclesfield as the third Christie-led local haematology centre offering expert-level care to patients closer to home. This growing network of local treatment centres allows us to share expertise and learning across sites, makes the best use of NHS resources and, most importantly, improves clinical outcomes for haematology patients across Greater Manchester and Cheshire.”

One of the first patients to use the new service was Dr Andrew Davidson. Andrew, who teaches biology, was diagnosed with a rare type of blood cancer, essential thrombocytosis in 2007. Essential thrombocythaemia is a type of blood disorder called a myeloproliferative neoplasm and it causes a high number of blood cells called platelets to form; these are blood cells involved in blood clotting. He has been receiving ongoing treatment since 2007.

Commenting on the new service, Andrew said:

“I’m really pleased I can continue to get my treatment as close to home as possible and won’t have to travel too far.

“The team at Leighton have been fantastic, but it’s very reassuring to know I’m getting expert Christie-level care through one of the top cancer centres in Europe.”

The Christie already works very closely with Leighton Hospital, one of a network of 11 local treatment centres offering chemotherapy, immunotherapy and hormone treatments to a wide range of patients with different types of cancer. Several Christie consultants hold outpatient clinics at Leighton Hospital for breast cancer and bowel cancer patients.

Elsewhere in Cheshire, anti-cancer treatments are offered at St Luke's Hospice in Winsford, where cancer patients can also have blood tests, and at The Christie at Macclesfield, which also provides radiotherapy. Some patients are also eligible to have treatments administered in the comfort of their own homes.

Pictured - Chemotherapy and Immunotherapy Team at Leighton Hospital who deliver haematology treatments.