Kingston Hospital NHS Foundation Trust opened its doors to haematology patients receiving chemotherapy in the new Maxwell Thorne Haematology Day Unit on 9 April this year.

With the support of Kingston Hospital Charity, a third floor has been added onto the Sir William Rous Unit, the building that provides cancer services at Kingston Hospital, to allow a new haematology day unit to be housed there. The Maxwell Thorne Haematology Day Unit was officially opened on Thursday 21 March by the family of Maxwell Thorne, who left a generous bequest to the hospital in his will, and the family of Sir William Rous, who the building was named after when it opened 10 years ago. At the opening, Kingston Hospital’s chairman Sian Bates paid tribute to Maxwell Thorne for his remarkably generous contribution, without which the development of this new floor would not have been possible.

Sarah Evans, Clinical Director of Cancer Services welcomed the opening of the new unit explaining that it “will provide a calming environment for patients while they receive treatment, and allow the hospital to deliver chemotherapy to more haematology patients every year. The new unit also gives staff a pleasant environment to work in, which boosts morale and in turn allows them to deliver the very best care to our patients.”