Increased service at the Nantgarw Support Unit

7 August 2024

Velindre Cancer Centre is increasing the number of SACT (systemic anti-cancer therapy) patients it is able to treat each week by operating two additional days at its Nantgarw Support Unit.

The Nantgarw Support Unit, which currently holds clinics on Thursdays and Fridays, will become a four-day a week service, with Wednesdays clinics introduced in August and Tuesdays clinics beginning in September.

The service has been a successful part of our SACT capacity for many years and is delivered from Tenovus Cancer Care’s state-of-the-art mobile support unit, in partnership with Lloyds Pharmacy Clinical Homecare.

Increasing the number of days offered at Nantgarw and extending the operating hours of each day will result in a 10% increase in the number of patients Velindre is able to treat with SACT each week.

Patient feedback has been overwhelmingly positive.

Catherine is a patient at Velindre. She said "At first I was a bit nervous because I'd been going to Velindre for a number of years. Who likes change particularly when things are going so well?

“People have an idea [the unit] is going to be like a caravan or a mobile bus but it's not like that at all. The treatment rooms are almost identical to Velindre.

“The unit is really comfortable, the staff here are so welcoming and helpful, access is good, parking is good, and the treatment here has gone really well.”

Andrew, another Velindre patient, said “I was sceptical at first when they said “you've got to go to a van”… but then everything started to gel. I love coming here now.

“Everyone's always got a smile on their face, and it's a warm feeling when you come down here. They really put your mind at ease.”

We are now able to treat many of our immunotherapy patients at the unit from their first cycle of treatment, and so in many cases, patients may not need to attend at SACT unit at the cancer centre at all.

More information can be found on our dedicated Nantgarw Support Unit webpage.