THE Princess Royal made a special visit to see a unique mobile chemotherapy unit designed by Cheshire company Event Marketing Solutions (EMS), for the Welsh cancer charity Tenovus.
The charity’s Royal patron saw the unit in action in Cwmbran, during one of its regular visits to deliver support, advice and treatment to cancer patients across South Wales.
Since it was launched a year ago, 3,470 people have visited the unit and 548 have been given chemotherapy on board.
By taking care into the heart of the community, the unit has more than halved the average distance travelled by patients for treatment. Before the unit was commissioned, the majority of those receiving chemotherapy had to travel to larger hospital locations with the round trip often taking more than two hours.
During her visit, the Princess viewed the unit’s latest facility – a touch screen visitor questionnaire, developed by EMS to capture key lifestyle information for the Great Welsh Health Check initiative.
The system delivers instant results, enabling specialist cancer nurses to give on-the-spot advice on positive lifestyle changes (smoking, diet, exercise, alcohol) in a private, one-to-one consultation.
The Princess was impressed by the unit. She said: “What I have seen here today makes a very good argument for more mobile units and not just in Wales.”
EMS MD, Keith Austin of Chester, said: “This is a pioneering project that is making a real difference to people’s lives – delivering not only treatment but also preventative healthcare information and advice directly into the heart of the community.
Duncan Innes, mobile unit manager at Tenovus said: “It was a great opportunity to show our patron the work of the mobile unit and she was extremely impressed with the facilities we are able to offer local people. The last thing people want when they undergo often gruelling cancer treatment is a long trip to hospital, and the unit helps a great deal in reducing stress for our patients.”
The 13.6 metre Tenovus mobile unit provides the space to treat four chemotherapy patients and also features a private consultation room and reception area.
