Published on 30 April 2026
A ground-breaking service for children’s cancer treatment has been officially launched in Cheshire and Merseyside, helping to ease the burden of travel for families.
It is the first service of its kind in the UK and is now taking chemotherapy and other treatment to communities where young cancer patients live so they need to take fewer trips to regional cancer hospitals.
The specially designed mobile cancer care unit is operating in Cheshire and Merseyside from its base at Alder Hey Children’s Hospital and will soon deliver treatment in North Wales and the rest of North West England.
The service – part funded by Cheshire and Merseyside Cancer Alliance (CMCA) alongside the two other regional cancer alliances – aims to transform how patients receive cancer treatment, reducing long journeys and time spent away from home, school, and family life.
It is a pilot project led by the North West Children’s Cancer Operational Delivery Network in a partnership with charity Hope For Tomorrow, Alder Hey and Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital.
Hope For Tomorrow already operates mobile units for adult cancer care nationwide, but this is the first time a unit has been created specifically for children and young people, delivering treatments usually carried out in hospital day case clinics.
Each year, around 600 children undergo cancer treatment in the North West, with many facing significant travel demands due to the limited number of specialist centres. Families routinely make round trips of more than 50 miles, at an average cost of £245 per month, placing considerable financial and emotional pressure on those already navigating cancer care.
The mobile service is designed to ease these burdens by delivering treatments closer to where families live, parking at convenient, safe locations across the region – including supermarkets and garden centres – to ensure families can access treatment easily.
Jon Hayes, Managing Director of CMCA, joined the official launch celebration at Alder Hey and visited the unit. He said: “This is a brilliant initiative which will have a hugely positive impact on the families who use it. We want children to be children, not patients and long journey times to and from a hospital can interfere with that. This new service will reduce that burden.
“This project is a fantastic example of partnership working, with different organsations coming together to identify a need and improving care for cancer patients.”
The impact of the pilot will be evaluated throughout the programme, with findings reported to funders and regional leaders responsible for children’s cancer care. If successful, the model could pave the way for a permanent service.