Cancer sufferers in Monmouthshire will be treated at a new multi-million pound radiotherapy centre in the county it has been announced today.

The new £38 million Radiotherapy ‘Satellite’ Centre at Nevill Hall Hospital in Abergavenny will be open by 2024 to improve access to radiotherapy for people living in the north and east of catchment area of Velindre Cancer Centre.

The combined investment will provide new and improved treatment for cancer patients, deliver safe radiotherapy services, and improve the capacity and efficiency of the service – by delivering quicker and more targeted treatment.

The money is part of an £86 million package for new cancer treatments facilitiies, equipment and software announced today by Health Minister Eluned Morgan.

More than £48 million is being invested in state-of-the-art radiotherapy equipment, replacing the linear accelerator fleet located at Velindre Cancer Centre.

Eight of these machines will be replaced at the centre in Whitchurch, Cardiff – and two more will be housed at the new radiotherapy centre at Nevill Hall Hospital in Abergavenny between now and 2025.

The investment is part of a long-term programme in southeast Wales to transform how cancer services are delivered.

It marks a major milestone in transforming cancer treatment across the region and brings care closer to patients’ homes.

This will ensure radiotherapy services have reliable equipment, can provide the latest techniques, and have two additional machines to meet the growing demand for cancer treatment.

The investment will also provide modernised cancer treatment planning software, the associated digital hardware and building refurbishments.

Once the wider programme is completed, southeast Wales will benefit from a new Velindre Cancer Centre, an additional Radiotherapy Satellite Centre, a new fleet of radiotherapy machines, and the latest software to plan and deliver radiotherapy.

This work is progressing in line with the development of the wider networked clinical model of non-surgical cancer care, which includes the development of integrated acute oncology services at district general hospitals throughout the region.