New support centre for Merseyside cancer patients set to go ahead

A £5m support centre for cancer patients in Liverpool has been given the green light.

Planning permission has been granted for the Maggie’s centre on the site of the former Royal Liverpool University Hospital, next to the new Royal and The Clatterbridge Cancer Centre.

The Steve Morgan Foundation will fund the centre, which will provide free practical, psychological, and emotional support for people with cancer, as well as their family and friends, from across Merseyside.

It is due to open in 2027 and will be the second Maggie’s centre in Merseyside, with Maggie’s Wirral, also funded by the Steve Morgan Foundation, having opened in 2021.

Dame Laura Lee, Chief Executive of Maggie’s said: “We are delighted to have been granted planning permission for our centre in Liverpool.

“The Steve Morgan Foundation’s incredibly generous support in commissioning, designing, funding, and building has fast tracked our ability to bring Maggie’s to Liverpool and for that I am so grateful.

“I am greatly looking forward to working closely once again with the Steve Morgan Foundation, and NHS University Hospitals of Liverpool Group, to ensure the people of Merseyside living with cancer have the support they need at what is possibly the hardest time of their lives.”

Maggie’s helps people take back control when cancer turns life upside down, with support for anything from treatment side effects to money worries. The centres’ professional teams provide help and information and run groups and activities, all designed to make coping with cancer easier. Support by Maggie’s professional staff help people with stress, fear, and anxiety as well as money worries and questions about treatment.

Steve Morgan, founder of the Steve Morgan Foundation, said: “We are delighted to have received planning approval for our third Maggie’s centre in the region, helping to bring vital cancer support to the people of Liverpool and ensuring they have easy access to the warm, welcoming and free expert support that a Maggie’s centre provides.

 “Our partnership with Maggie’s highlights the power of collaboration and the Foundation’s ability to ‘give’ well by harnessing our expertise, practical support, and commercial experience to maximise the impact of our financial support.”

James Sumner, Chief Executive of NHS University Hospitals of Liverpool Group, said: “As part of the old Royal Liverpool University Hospital demolition process, we have been working closely with partners to develop a masterplan that will have the health and wellbeing of our patients and local communities at its heart.

“We are delighted to be welcoming Maggie’s as the first new partner onto the site of the old Royal. The services they offer to support people with cancer will be hugely beneficial to the people of Liverpool.”

To find out more about Maggie’s please visit www.maggies.org