In partnership with the Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (OUH), a new radiotherapy satellite centre is to be built at the Great Western Hospital (GWH) site in Swindon.

Swindon and many areas within Wiltshire are one of the very few parts of the country which currently do not have access to radiotherapy services within a 45 minute travel time. At the moment around 700 patients a year make the 70 mile round-trip journey to the Churchill Hospital in Oxford for radiotherapy. Treatment usually lasts for a period of 4-7 weeks, made up of daily visits.

The Oxford University Hospitals is investing £18 million in order to bring this much needed facility to Swindon and Brighter Futures is fundraising £2.9 million which will contribute towards the purchase of important clinical equipment within the building.

The new radiotherapy unit at the GWH site will be a satellite of the Oxford Cancer & Haematology Centre which is based at the Churchill Hospital in Oxford and specialist OUH staff will undertake the treatment of all those patients who attend the new facility in Swindon.

This development provides the opportunity for people to be treated closer to home, in a modern purpose built facility that provides a welcoming environment during a period which is often an anxious time for patients.

Fundraising Appeal

This is a once in a generation opportunity to make a huge difference to cancer treatment in Swindon and the local community have backed the campaign in their thousands and in such extraordinary ways.

On the 6th December due to the efforts of the local community and with the support of many of our corporate partners we have hit our target of £2.9 million. Thank you!

Working with Oxford University Hospitals the money raised from this appeal will enable us to purchase key clinical equipment for the new Radiotherapy Unit in Swindon, if we exceed our target we will be in a position to support our other life-saving cancer services at the Great Western Hospital, helping support many more patients.

Project Update

We are delighted hitting our target in raising funds for our new radiotherapy unit at the Great Western Hospital and would like to thank everyone who worked hard, volunteered and donated to the cause.

The groundwork for the new centre is now complete and our partner, Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, who’ll be providing the radiotherapy service in the new unit, is currently seeking confirmation from the Department of Health to secure the funding to complete the final phase of the project.

This will then give us the green light to bring in contractors and begin construction, which we now expect to begin in early 2019. This is a little later than planned but we hope to see our first patients receiving radiotherapy treatment in spring 2020