More than £150,000 has been raised to help cancer patients at St George's Hospitalc

Mayor of Merton Janice Howard joined volunteers and staff from Macmillan Cancer Support this week to celebrate the efforts to fundraise for the Trust’s ambulatory oncology care unit.

Zoe Penny led the team of volunteers on their fundraising mission ans said: "Our committee members have worked tirelessly to raise this money over the past two years, putting on fundraising events such as concerts, quiz nights, garden parties and our annual Christmas fair.

"It was wonderful to see the unit in action, speak to patients who have used the service and have got so much from it, and to see what a huge difference it is making to local people living with cancer.”

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Previously, struggling patients may have been admitted for overnight stays unnecessarily, but thanks to the AOC unit, patients are now seen on average within six minutes of their arrival.

Dr Mehran Afshar, consultant oncologist, clinical lead for the AOC unit added: “We would like to thank the members of Macmillan’s Merton committee very much for their huge contribution to this facility and it’s wonderful to be able to show them first-hand what a positive impact it’s having on our patients.”