Cancer centre with 'world-class' facilities to reopen

A cancer centre which closed after the company running it went out of business is set to reopen under new owners.

The Rutherford Centre initially opened for cancer patients to great fanfare in 2018, offering the latest cutting edge treatments.

In 2022 the company running it closed, blaming the Covid-19 pandemic, and the building has lay empty ever since.

Icon Group, an Australian healthcare company with several existing UK clinics, plans to open in the same building as soon as 2027.

The previous owners had taken on NHS contracts, as well as private patients, and Mark Middleton, Group CEO of Icon Group, says that's something they're keen to explore: "We believe in access for everyone, and we also believe in the great strength of public-private partnerships."

He adds : "I see really no reason why those partnerships can't be part of the solution for the wait times for cancer care in the UK."

Doctors have warned in the past that patients are waiting too long for diagnosis and treatment.

Steve Allen, a former consultant aneasthetist at Royal Berkshire Hospital, was treated for prostate cancer at the hospital.

He says private companies providing treatment for the NHS is something people "either love or hate".

"There is no doubt in my mind that without private medicine in the NHS you wouldn't be able to cope with the demand," he says.

One of the big barriers to meeting that demand, Allen says, is shortage of staff.

"It takes five years at least to get somebody to a level where they might sometimes be able to work independently."

It's a challenge they're prepared for and Middleton says "we have quite a lot of Australians coming over".

"We're also going to hire local people as well, absolutely. I think there's a great mix."

The BBC has approached Royal Berkshire Hospital Trust for comment.