A father has backed a campaign to keep children’s cancer services at a specialist hospital after he credited doctors there with saving his daughter's life.

Dartford dad Ian Magness has joined thousands of parents in signing a petition to keep the paediatric unit at the Royal Marsden in Sutton.

His daughter Zoe, 15, was treated by a team of consultants at the facility after she was diagnosed with cancer.

She is now ten years out of treatment and he attributes this to the excellent care she received.

However, the NHS is currently reviewing services at the children's wing after a review suggested it be moved to a central London location unless the hospital can provide an intensive care unit.

It comes just nine years after it was opened by the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge following an £18m fundraising campaign by The Royal Marsden Cancer Charity.

Fears have been raised by parents who say its location is instrumental to the care it provides.

They say moving it will lengthen journey times, add costs and increase the risk of infection to patients who will need to take public transport to access the facility.

Ian said: "This is a facility that cannot be lost. It takes us 45 minutes to an hour to get there but we wouldn't want to go anywhere else, and if we'd had have to have gone into central London, that would have been impossible.

"We spent three months in intensive care at St George's where the Royal Marsden consultants worked alongside the PICU consultants and together saved her life."

He is now calling for a paediatric intensive care unit to be built at the current Sutton site.

This position has been backed by the it #mustbemarsden campaign and a petition has since amassed more than 30,000 signatures.

NHS England will make the final decision and Trust staff are urging it to consider retaining the existing site.

Hospital bosses point to the absence of any serious incidents relating to the safe transfer of children from the hospital to St George's Hospital's intensive care uni

The Care Quality Commission recently assessed the Trust as "a beacon of outstanding practice" and rated its children's services as ‘Good’ for safety and ‘Outstanding’ for caring.

Nick van As, medical director of the Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust, said: “The evidence shows our service is entirely safe.

"We have never experienced a serious incident in relation to the transfer of children from The Royal Marsden to St George’s paediatric intensive care, and the Care Quality Commission has assessed this specific aspect of our model as safe, noting that transfers take place ‘without compromising safety’.

“The Royal Marsden in Sutton ensures that children and young people with cancer receive the very best treatment and care, including access to clinical trials to improve survival, expertise in oncology, and modern, age-appropriate facilities.

“We believe that a proposal which retains The Royal Marsden’s cancer expertise, life-saving research, modern facilities and accessible location for the population we serve will continue to provide the best clinical outcomes and patient experience.

“We will be urging NHS England to demonstrate that any proposed changes can provide a better service for children with cancer and their families.”

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