Hospital to be home for cancer research institute

NEWCASTLE'S Freeman Hospital is set to become the home of a £30m world-leading cancer research institute, with hopes that it will open in 2028.

- OWEN YOUNGER

Newcastle Hospitals and The Sir Bobby Robson Foundation have come together to propose the facility, which will serve patients from the North East and beyond.

The construction of the new facility, which will be based next to the existing Northern Centre for Cancer Care at the hospital, is being funded by the Newcastle Hospitals Charity, with £20million already raised and £10million still to come through a fundraising campaign.

The new research centre will be named The Sir Bobby Robson Institute, and will bring together the current Sir Bobby Robson Cancer Trials Research Centre and the hospital's cancer and blood disorders research team.

The three-storey building will provide a larger, dedicated space to increase the amount of clinical studies that can take place, with the latest equipment and technology.