Work on the Lanarkshire Beatson a new £22m radiotherapy centre for the West of Scotland is now underway and to celebrate the start of construction, Cabinet Secretary for Health Alex Neil was invited to a groundbreaking ceremony at the site.
Operating as a satellite of the Beatson West of Scotland Cancer Centre in Glasgow, the new centre is expected to be operational by the end of 2015.
The centre will include two state-of-the-art linear accelerators which deliver high-energy radiation to shrink tumours and kill cancer cells, with expansion space for a third machine, if required. It will also have a CT simulator to help plan radiotherapy treatment. This will enable around 80 patients a day who require radiotherapy for lung, breast, prostate and rectal cancers to be treated.
Director of Regional Planning for the West of Scotland and Project Director for the Centre Janette Fraser, said: “I am delighted that construction work is now underway to create this important and much needed facility.
“A great deal of work has already been carried out by the project board to finalise the design and layout of the facility. It is great to see those plans come to fruition and it is very exciting to think that in around 18 months time the new centre should be treating patients.”
