A multi-million-pound bid has been placed for a new radiotherapy unit which could be closer than Mount Vernon Cancer Centre.

Bosses at the East and North Hertfordshire NHS Trust have put in a bid for a new radiotherapy unit to be built for cancer patients in Hertfordshire.

Currently one of the nearest sites where many cancer patients in Watford and Hertfordshire are treated at is Mount Vernon Cancer Centre in Northwood, which is also owned by the trust.

However, the existing centre was found to be neglected after an urgent clinical advisory panel review in July and was at risk of moving its services to central London.

Now the trust hopes to build a new site closer to Hertfordshire, while the University College London Hospitals NHS Trust (UCLH) could be awarded a contract to take over the Mount Vernon Centre from April 2021.

If both the bid for a new unit and the Mount Vernon contract exchange goes through, then patients in Watford would not have to travel far or to central London for cancer services as feared.

This bid is said to reflect a long-held belief that there should be a satellite facility outside of Northwood to improve access and care.

In a statement confirming the bid, a spokesperson for the East and North Hertfordshire NHS Trust said: “It has been a long-held strategic intent of East and North Hertfordshire NHS Trust to build a satellite radiotherapy unit to improve local patient access to this critical treatment for patients with cancer, and provide the best patient care.

“We submitted a bid for funding for a satellite radiotherapy unit to the STP (NHS sustainability and transformation partnership) in 2018 and have submitted a new bid this year.”

As the outcome for the possibility of a new site awaits, work will begin in February to consider the best way to meet the needs of the existing Mount Vernon Cancer Centre population in the long term.

While the review continues, there will be no changes to where Mount Vernon patients receive treatment.