Surgical hubs are now up and running and dealing with critical and urgent surgery, this includes urgent cancer surgery.
Patients have naturally been concerned about COVID-19 when visiting hospitals and surgical hubs are one way of alleviating some of these concerns.
Specialist centres, such as those created using independent sector hospitals, are located away from hospital facilities dealing with COVID-19 and all patient admissions are tested for the virus 48 hours before surgery. Patients are prioritised in part based on clinical need and taking into account the level of risk.
We've put together some information to deal with patients questions and answers about cancer surgical hubs. Queries we have received include concerns about backlogs in care, the impact of delaying treatment, how to access treatment, travel arrangements and expected treatment timescales.
If you have any questions about surgical hubs and expect you will need or have been asked to visit one as part of your treatment - please read our questions and answers here.
If you are interested in reading the letter from Dame Cally Palmer our National Cancer Director, about maintaining cancer treatment during the COVID-19 response, it is available here.