The NHS England East of England regional team has launched a public consultation on proposals to relocate the Mount Vernon cancer centre to a new, purpose-built facility at Watford General Hospital.  The consultation runs until Sunday 29 March 2026.

Patients, staff, stakeholders and members of the public are invited to share their views. You can take part online at mvccreview.nhs.uk.

There will also be in-person opportunities to participate.

About the Mount Vernon cancer centre

The Mount Vernon cancer centre is a well-recognised specialist cancer centre, providing regional non-surgical specialist care for adult patients across Hertfordshire and parts of north west London, Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire and east Berkshire.

The centre employs an extensive, expert, multi-disciplinary workforce with a highly regarded reputation.

The main services the centre provides are radiotherapy, including brachytherapy, and systemic anti-cancer therapies, including chemotherapy and immunotherapy.

Why change is needed

In 2019, an independent review found that specialised cancer services cannot continue at the current Mount Vernon cancer centre site, as the existing facilities no longer meet the needs of modern, complex cancer care.

Modern cancer treatment increasingly requires access to on-site support services such as accident and emergency and critical care.

The current site lacks these essential services, which has limited the number of patients the centre can treat and meant some clinical trials and treatments are no longer available to patients.

The proposal

NHS England is proposing to relocate the Mount Vernon cancer centre to a new, purpose-built facility next to Watford General Hospital.

Plans for a new Watford General Hospital have already been approved, and combining the two projects would create efficiencies through joint construction, reducing costs without increasing the overall cost to taxpayers.

The new cancer centre would:

• provide access to essential on-site medical and surgical support services, so the full range of specialist services can be safely offered to patients;
• offer modern, high-quality facilities for treatment and research, expanding innovation and giving more people access to the latest treatments and clinical trials; and
• continue to serve patients across Hertfordshire, north west London, Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire and east Berkshire

The proposals also include expanding chemotherapy, diagnostics and follow-up care at local hospitals, increasing chemotherapy delivered at home, and reducing the need for patients to travel long distances for routine appointments.

There is also an option to locate a second radiotherapy unit at either Luton and Dunstable Hospital or Lister Hospital in Stevenage, improving access for patients living in the north of the area.

Subject to the outcome of the consultation, management of services would transfer from East and North Hertfordshire Teaching NHS Trust to University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, a specialist cancer provider.