POOLE Hospital is celebrating the opening of £180,000 dedicated treatment rooms for teenagers battling cancer.

The new inpatient facility will give young people with cancer the opportunity to have treatment closer to home, made possible thanks to fundraising and the generosity of previous patients and their families including bereaved loved ones.

According to experts, an age-appropriate environment within a hospital setting when teenagers and young adults receive cancer treatment is important for both their physical and emotional wellbeing.

Poole Hospital is the designated centre in Dorset for the Teenage and Young Adult (TYA) service working in partnership with University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust as the primary treatment centre to provide cancer treatment and care for young patients across Dorset.

The two new dedicated Teenage and Young Adult (TYA) cancer in-patient rooms on the haematology ward within the Dorset Cancer Centre have been designed to create a non-clinical and more homely environment including a sofa bed for a parent, friend or partner to stay overnight.

The Teenage Cancer Trust assisted with the concept and design and the work was funded entirely by charitable donations.

Donors include Tanya and Carl Appleby who raised more than £34,000 in memory of their son Vincent, who passed away aged 18 from leukaemia in January 2016. Their fundraising drive was motivated by a desire to support other young people with cancer and to make their ‘Vision for Vincent’ a reality.

Other major donors include the Dorset Cancer Care Foundation who donated £10,000 and John Beare, the husband of a former patient, who raised £6,000.

Andrea Moxham, matron for cancer services, said the importance of the new facility cannot be underestimated.

“The two rooms will offer young patients from Poole, Bournemouth and Dorchester the opportunity and choice to receive their inpatient care much closer to home. The rooms are designed specifically for teenagers and young adults using local themes as a backdrop and incorporating a vibrant feel which will appeal to the younger patient,” she said.

“It has taken a long time from concept to completion and we pleased to be able to make a positive difference to young patients having treatment for cancer at Poole Hospital.”