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Mount Vernon Hospital, Rickmansworth

User
Posted 06 Oct 2019 at 18:06

The last few days have seen many news reports of poor standards at Mount Vernon, one of the country's key cancer care centres. I have not been able to find the NHS report online, only the news reports of it, so it's possible the news reporting doesn't accurately reflect the real NHS report. The news reports claim the NHS report says it is beyond fixing and must be closed.


As a recent patient there, I am somewhat shocked for two reasons; to hear a hospital is in such a bad state, and because it doesn't at all reflect my experience over the couple of months I had treatments there. The comments about the dilapidated state of some of the buildings are true in places. The hospital predates WWI as a TB hospital, and became a hospital for treating WWI troops - many of those buildings are still in use and include the two in-patient cancer wards (in which I spent 3 days). However, the building containing most of the linear accelerators is only about 10 years old, and most of the linear accelerators I was treated on where one or two years old, although I had a few sessions on a 10 year old one. All of them were IG-IMRT and run in Image Guided mode every time (unlike many centres which only do that the first few treatments, and then once a week), and there were 7 linear accelerators used for prostate, bowel, breast, head/neck, etc, and some other linear accelerators used for more specialist treatments including cyberknife stereotactic radiotherapy. They also have a HDR Brachytherapy suite there, something they've been specialising in since 1996, and it's their long term survival results which have made this procedure more popular just recently, a reflection of them also being a significant research and teaching hospital.


The staff have been wonderful throughout. There's a very pro-active holistic care program which runs along with your treatment, something that's missing from many other hospitals.


Obviously, there are many parts of the hospital I don't know and the palliative care suite came in for particular criticism.

User
Posted 06 Oct 2019 at 20:58

I had my PSMA scan on the Mount Vernon site but in the Paul Strickland Scanner Center where the equipment was very good. However, it is a separate entity., although they collaborate with the hospital. I did have a good look around though and my impression was that there were quite a number of dilapidated buildings scattered over the site, some unoccupied. I was there on a Saturday and there were only a handful of people to be seen outside of any buildings and this was early summer. If there is a need for a hospital, a new one is overdue. This is no reflection on the staff of whom I have no experience other than the Consultant there who promptly provided the necessary referral for the scan only done on a private basis at the time.

Edited by member 06 Oct 2019 at 21:05  | Reason: Not specified

Barry
User
Posted 07 Oct 2019 at 07:00

Hi I had my Brachytherapy at Mount Vernon in September 2016 and found the staff and doctors of the highest standards while in their care, yes the Hospital is a little old and spread out but I would be happy to return at any time for further treatment if i needed it.I had all of my early scans and tests at the Lister in Stevenage but they could only offer me the Robotic removal of my prostate.A lot of Hospitals get bad revues but i had no problems at all.


John.

User
Posted 11 Oct 2019 at 09:41

I had the politics of this explained to me by an NHS campaigner (who is nothing to do with, and has never used Mount Vernon himself).


This is a land-grab attempt by the Christie in Manchester, to take over the work of Mount Vernon cancer care in London, because they want the money which comes with the care, and Mount Vernon currently competes with them very effectively for cancer care work. The report was written by the Christie.


I can't vouch for the politics myself, but on checking the Guardian, the damming report was written by the Christie.

User
Posted 11 Oct 2019 at 23:49
Don't know about the machinations that happen within the NHS but logistically think it strange that anybody within striking distance of London would want to travel all the way to Manchester for treatment when if Mount Vernon was closed there are other highly advanced hospitals in London such as UCLH and the Royal Marsden to name just two. It could be that treatment waiting time is shorter at the Christie and they have the only Cycletron for treating NHS patients with Proton Beam at present, at least until UCLH commission theirs. But Proton Beam will only be able to treat a limited number of patients and those who are most suitable. Interesting to see how this pans out.
Barry
 
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