It has been confirmed that thousands more NHS cancer patients are set to be offered treatment from the comfort of their own home.
This announcement comes following a successful scheme in Manchester.
A specialist team at the renowned cancer centre, The Christie NHS Foundation Trust in Withington, is currently already delivering lifesaving chemotherapy and immunotherapy at home for around 130 patients per week, after beginning to offer the option for breast cancer patients back in 2016 – but now, there are plans to roll it out more widely.
It’s hoped that up to 10,000 patients with breast, bowel, kidney, lung, prostate or melanoma skin cancer will be treated per year.
The ‘Christie at Home’ service currently consists 12 fully-qualified chemotherapy and immunotherapy nurses from the hospital, and it additionally offers more than 25,000 of treatments each year from a mobile unit and regional clinics.
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But how does it work?
Well, patients are given their first two treatments in a clinic – to allow doctors to assess them and monitor for any potential complications – and if they’re given the all-clear, they can then opt to have the rest of their treatments at home.
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The drugs are delivered by a pharmacist and specialist nurses visit to administer them.
Stephanie Hechter – Outreach Service Manager at The Christie – told the Daily Mail that the service has been proving popular and effective throughout the trial period, and particularly during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, as “patients don’t have to spend time travelling to and from hospital appointments, and they don’t need to worry about parking or sitting around in waiting rooms”.
She continued: The benefits of at-home treatment were even greater last year, when many patients were worried about coming to hospital.
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“Our way, they get a time slot and one-on-one nursing care.
“It meant that no one missed appointments [and] we were able to keep providing treatment as usual.”
It’s also been confirmed that The Christie is working with and could act as a blueprint for another leading cancer centre, The Royal Marsden Hospital in London, as with figures suggesting there are 4.5 million patients waiting for hospital treatment, experts are saying the service could be a way for other hospitals to help ease pressure caused by a backlog of patients who have seen procedures or treatments delayed during the pandemic.
It could also prevent patients from having to come into hospitals where strict hygiene control and social distancing measures are still place.
An unexplained pain that lasts three weeks or more could be a sign of cancer. It’s probably nothing serious, but finding cancer early makes it more treatable.
One patient to have benefited from the ‘Christie at Home’ service is Bob Huntbach – a 72-year-old retired Detective Superintendent from Urmston, who is a father-of-two, grandfather to five, great grandfather to two, and was diagnosed with melanoma skin cancer four years ago – who has been receiving immunotherapy treatment every six weeks and says he sat in his conservatory while the nurses carried out the treatment.
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Bob added: “When I was going to hospital for the treatment, I had to write off a whole day and it’s very tiring [but] now, I have the treatment at home and it makes a huge difference.
“You also get a one-to-one service with the nurse, who can answer all your questions”.
Unfortunately in recent months, the cancer has spread to Bob’s lungs and he will now need to go onto a new drug to continue his fight against the disease, but he says that the time he saved travelling has made all the difference to keeping up a somewhat normal lifestyle.
“Once the nurses have gone, I can spend time in my workshop,” he says.
“At my age, every day counts”.
Featured Image – The Christie NHS Foundation Trust
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First vendors confirmed Glossop Market Hall, including two indie Manc traders
Danny Jones
The first vendors for the upcoming Glossop Market Hall have been announced, and the lineup includes two beloved Greater Manchester independent businesses.
Better still, the third is another noteworthy name from the North West.
Glossop Market Hall is scheduled to launch later this year, setting up shop in the historic town hall complex, where the High Peak Borough Council, a retail shopping arcade and various other municipal buildings have stood in various different iterations for nearly well over a century.
With the Derbyshire town set to celebrate the opening of the newly revamped market hall, those behind the new Glossop attraction have now revealed the first three names set to take up residence there.
As you can see, the biggest names already signed on to cook from one of the six kitchens is a Manchester favourite food hall in its own right: Hello Oriental.
The Pan-Asian paradise not only has a subterranean space below Circle Square, but also at The Trafford Centre, as well as a dessert spin-off in Freight Island.
Indie trader number two comes in the form of B&V Trading, who are based at Stanley Square in Sale and specialise in eco-friendly, UK-made treats, toys and essentials for four-legged friends.
After proving a hit with the locals, their small stall at nearby Altrincham Market has grown to see them open up not just a second site in the leafy Cheshire suburbs of Knutsford back in 2022, but now boast a third location in neighbouring Macclesfield.
Speaking of Macc, local gin and whisky makers, Forest Distillery – based up at the famous Cat and Fiddle Inn pub towards the Peaks – they round out the first wave of regional businesses set to pop up in Glossop Market Hall (GMH) when it finally arrives this winter.
And once again, as the update on social media reads: “This is just the beginning”.
Natives, day-trippers and tourists from all over are bound to visit this place when it opens sometime in November (exact date still TBC), and with space not only for a dedicated bar, dining space and a coffee shop, but a total of 17 retail spaces, we can’t wait to see what comes next.
GMH becomes just the latest among a growing trend of food and drink halls popping up all over our part of the country, with virtually every Greater Manchester borough now boasting at least one of their own – or, in the city centre’s case, what feels like a dozen now.
Exhibit number… not sure, we’ve lost track at this point.
Ruben Amorim insists he ‘cannot’ quit as Manchester United manager
Danny Jones
Manchester United boss Ruben Amorim has reiterated that he won’t quit his job at the club and that his departure will only come through being sacked.
The struggling head coach has notched the lowest tally of any permanent manager in the post-Sir Alex Ferguson era, and despite a much-needed win against Sunderland this past weekend – not to mention a much more positive performance overall – there are still growing calls of ‘Amorim Out’.
Amorim has registered just 34 points from the 33 Premier League games he’s been in charge of so far,
Nevertheless, as per quotes from The Guardian over the weekend, the Portuguese head coach assured that he will not be stepping away from the role and would have to be sacked for him to leave Man United.
Speaking to the outlet after the 2-0 home win this past Saturday, Amorim said: “No, that is a decision of the board – I cannot do that. Sometimes I have that feeling, and losing is hard, not to create the momentum.
“It’s so frustrating when you create the momentum, go to the next game, [and] something happens. That feeling sometimes hurts me a lot. Also, the players and especially the staff here. But that is not my decision, and I think it would be really hard to leave if I don’t do everything to follow my career here.”
The 40-year-old still has the support of many supporters, but it’s fair to say that many neutrals and even die-hards who would like to believe they have put their faith in this rebuild and the INEOS project up to now are growingly increasingly impatient and doubtful, with plenty of vocal detractors already.
Amorim continued, “It’s a dream to be here and I want to continue here, and I want to fight for this; but the problem is now what makes me suffer is to lose games, not to lose my job.”
He also added the caveat that, unlike those who were unfortunately laid off during the two rounds of redundancies over the past 12 months alone, “you fear [losing] your job when you have to pay the bills, and I don’t have that feeling.”
It’s also worth noting that this is by no means the first time he’s fielded questions of the matter of resignation, having previously worried fans with divisive comments about sometimes ‘hating’ his players and flitting between wanting to either quit or echo Fergie and stay at Old Trafford for decades.
"Sometimes I want to quit, sometimes I want to be here for 20 years."
Rúben Amorim defended his emotional response after Manchester United’s defeat to Grimsby Town but admitted he wants to improve how he reacts 🗣️ pic.twitter.com/nXuN0Ztoee
Despite the United administration assuring that he has their backing, every game feels like it could be make or break for Amorim at the moment.
Although he does have the respite of the October international break coming up, the first game back is against the reigning champions Liverpool away at Anfield – a team he is yet to beat.
In fact, you could also argue that this may only serve as disruption to any kind of momentum they may have generated with the victory over the Black Cats; only time will tell.
You can see his most recent post-match press conference in full down below.
Ok, Man United fans: Amorim won’t quit, but do you think he should be sacked, or does he deserve more time?
The Manc -
6th April 2021 
