Prime Minister Boris Johnson has described Carlisle’s £35 million cancer centre as “amazing” as he stopped by to meet with staff and patients.
Mr Johnson stopped at the facility at the Cumberland Infirmary ahead of a telephone call with US President Joe Biden on the rising tensions in Ukraine.
The Northern Centre for Cancer Care opened to patients in August.
“I think it’s an absolutely amazing facility,” said Mr Johnson.
“I’m here to thank people for what they’re doing to help the country and particularly Cumbria in this part of the North West – but it also works with Newcastle as well – to help everybody to bounce back from COVID.
“Everybody knows somebody who didn’t get the treatment that they needed during the pandemic. Everybody knows somebody who didn’t get a screen or a scan at the right time and we’ve got to catch up the waiting list.
“I’m afraid they are too high and I am afraid they will get higher because more people are likely to come forward.
“This is just a fact, but we have to deal with it. So we have to put the investment in.
“We’ve got 10,000 more nurses this year than last year, but we need many more. We’re recruiting them as fast as we can.
“We’ve got more doctors, we’ve got more oncologists, we’ve got more radiographers. But the demand is huge.
“UK cancer treatments are getting absolutely amazing. What they can do here, it’s incredible, but it requires a lot of support and a lot of investment and that’s why we’re putting it in.”
Read more
Boris Johnson on what Levelling Up means for Cumbria – cumbriacrack.com
