Evelina London sets out vision for the future of children's cancer care

Evelina London Children's Hospital has set out further details of its proposals to transform children's cancer care for the benefit of patients and their families. The leading children's hospital was formally responding to NHS England's consultation on the future location of specialist cancer services for children in south London and the south east of England.

Evelina London is rated 'outstanding' by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) and is the only dedicated specialist children's hospital in the region. It is one of the two possible locations put forward in the consultation, and is NHS England's preferred option based on expert independent evaluation. The hospital is part of Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust, home to the largest cancer treatment centre in London for adults and significant expertise in adult cancer research.

The response to the consultation sets out why Evelina London Children's Hospital believes it is best placed to take on a service for children and families that will provide them with the best possible care, both now and in the future. This includes:

• building on existing cancer expertise, 'outstanding' rated children’s services, and existing partnerships with every local hospital in the region
• giving patients and families the comprehensive travel and accommodation support they need, including bookable parking spaces, a dedicated door-to-door car service, reimbursement of travel costs, and access to free family accommodation at the largest Ronald McDonald House in the region 
• ensuring the new service would be up and running as quickly as possible by utilising existing world-class facilities and capitalising on the ability to immediately begin new children's cancer clinical research trials and offer the latest immune therapies
• the full backing of a Trust that has specifically prioritised children's care through more than £185m of investment over the past 20 years, with forward plans to create a genuinely world-leading paediatric centre of excellence

Dr Sara Hanna, medical director at Evelina London Children's Hospital said:

"We believe that bringing this service to Evelina London would provide a once in a generation opportunity to bring world leading experts together and create a centre that is genuinely fit for the future – giving children with cancer the care that they truly deserve.

"The best interests of children, families, and staff will always be at the heart of everything we do. That is why we would work closely with the current clinical teams, as well as with families and children requiring cancer care, to design the new service and ensure continuity of care during the transition period."

Read the full response on the Evelina London website.