Green light for Coventry’s new cancer support centre

Plans for a new cancer support center have been given the go-ahead in Coventry. It will provide specialist support for people suffering from the disease and is to be built on the grounds of Coventry University Hospital in Walsgrave.

Designed by Jamie Fobert Architects, the new single-storey building, to be called Maggies, will focus on well-being and sustainability, including the use of natural light and natural materials, UHCW NHS Trust said. It will support 135,000 people living with cancer in Coventry and the West Midlands.

Architects who drew up the plans for Maggies said it would be the first of its kind in the West Midlands. It is hoped that the new center will be open to support people living with cancer by 2027.

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Maggies was founded in Edinburgh in 1966 and has since grown into a network of centers built next to NHS hospitals across the UK. Volunteers are now actively fundraising to provide the new center at Coventry University Hospital.

Professor Andy Hardy, Chief Executive of UHCW NHS Trust, said: “I am delighted to hear that we are a major step closer to having a beautiful new Maggies Center on site here at University Hospital Coventry. It will make a real difference to patients who come here from across the area for treatment, as well as their family and friends.

“The patients we care for are often tired, stressed and emotionally and physically drained by their illness, so I’m sure they will be very welcome to have this fantastic facility and the extra support from Maggies specialist staff, which is designed to complement the work which we do. Here.”

Dame Laura Lee, chief executive at Maggies, added: “We are delighted to have planning permission to build our new Maggies in Coventry. We’ve been working with University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust for many years to bring our specialist support to the people of the West Midlands, so it’s great that we’re now one step closer.”

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