A £1 MILLION gift from York Against Cancer to the NHS in York, north and east Yorkshire is helping the service cope in the battle against Covid-19.

A mobile chemotherapy unit, the first of its kind in Yorkshire, was presented to the York Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust by the charity in 2017.

Its usual role is to bring chemotherapy closer to patients in outlying areas, but during the current coronavirus crisis it has been sited at Scarborough Hospital so that cancer treatments can be given outside the town’s main hospital buildings.

The change has been made to help keep vulnerable patients safe and the award-winning unit is now playing a key role in the cancer service strategy of the Trust as a whole.

A similar separation of the services has come into force in York, with people visiting the city’s Nuffield Hospital for cancer treatments rather than visiting the main hospital in Wigginton Road.

Julie Russell, general manager of York Against Cancer, said she did not hesitate to agree when she was approached about siting the unit at Scarborough during the epidemic.

“It was just the right thing to do to protect patients,” she said.

“We are all really proud of the MCU and delighted that it has proven its worth once more.

“It’s all thanks to the generosity of our supporters.”

York Against Cancer provides care and support for patients and their families in York, north and east Yorkshire.

It funds pioneering research and provides cancer awareness, education and information.

York Against Cancer is entirely reliant on donations and fundraising to help support its upkeep.

To donate to York Against Cancer online click here. 

Alternatively, once things get back to normal, you can call into one of the charity’s shops at York Hospital or in Huntington to leave a donation.