A local charity has offered to build a chemotherapy unit at Noble’s Hospital.

Manx Breast Cancer Support Group has revealed its plans to iomtoday.co.im after rumours circulated around the island.

Indeed, speculation had risen to the point where government was forced to respond to a Freedom of Information request earlier this week, which asked for ’a copy of the reasons as to why the Hospice offer to construct a dedicated chemo unit by Hospice was refused’.

The reply, quite correctly, was that government had received no such request from Hospice and had therefore not turned it down. However, we can reveal the true situation.

Manx Breast Cancer Support Group, which has already raised the money to build and equip the Manx Breast Unit at Noble’s Hospital, made a verbal approach to the DHSC eight months ago, offering to build a new unit.

We understand that the then Health Minister, Kate Beecroft, and hospital management turned down the charity’s offer.

It is understood that the hospital’s preferred option was to close Ward 5 and move the chemotherapy unit from Ward 20 (the old Newlands) into there.

The charity, however, took the view that the bed space in Ward 5 was still likely to be needed at times of great pressure on the hospital and insisted that money which they have already put aside would be used to build a new, dedicated unit.

Manx Breast Cancer Support chairman Julie Stokes said: ’We have the money and we offered to build them a brand new unit, which would be adjacent to the Manx Breast Cancer Unit and would have its own entrance so that chemo patients, who have a lowered immunity from the treatment, would not have to go through other areas of the hospital and possibly be exposed to germs.

’What other hospital in the UK, if a charity offered to build them a brand new chemo unit, would turn it down?’

Ward 5 was closed a month ago and the charity has since approached new Health Minister, David Ashford, with its business case for a new unit.

Mr Ashford said: ’The actual charity submitted a business plan into the department on Monday, April 23.

’It is being considered in the normal way and myself and the senior officers will be looking to meet with the charity to discuss the proposals they have put forward.’

lMr Ashford denies there have been significant problems since Ward 5 closed just over a month ago.

The full story is in the Manx Independent, which is in the shops now.

’What hospital in the UK, if a charity offered to build them a brand new chemo unit, would turn it down?’