A HOSPITAL could lose its licence to make cancer drugs if plans to improve facilities are turned down. 


Colchester General Hospital has applied to Colchester Council for permission to demolish a hazardous materials store and use the space to build a new two-storey unit attached to the existing pharmacy building.


The new Aseptic Unit in Turner Road is proposed to be a new build extension to support the pharmacy building, which is no longer big enough.


A report to the council said: “The Aseptic Unit is integral to the continuing provision of aseptically prepared products for the Trust, in particular for cancer chemotherapy treatment but also for a range of general IV preparations, parenteral nutrition, radioactive injections and blood labelling for use in nuclear medicine. 


“Failure to progress this project would be very likely to result in the withdrawal of the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency licence, which would have serious implications for the cancer services provided by the Trust.”


If approved, the new Aseptic Unit will be built to current MHRA standards and will be future proofed, including an improved design and layout. 


The report added: “Most critically the isolator rooms will be large enough to house additional isolators. 


“The isolators are cabinets enabling aseptic manipulations to take place. 


“The design will allow room for four chemotherapy dispensing isolators, two more than currently, which is vital for providing chemotherapy treatment to the increasing patient numbers predicted over the next ten years, based on recent trends regarding patient numbers and the increasing complexity of medicines.”


The report said the new building is “vital”. 


Barbara Buckley, Chief Medical Officer, said: “We will always be in a position to provide chemotherapy treatment to our patients. The plans are to upgrade our facilities where we currently make chemotherapy drugs, and to make it bigger for the future as demand increases. 


"It is incredibly convenient for us to be able to make the chemotherapy drugs on site but if we were unable to make them here we would look at other options, such as Ipswich Hospital.”