Proton Partners International has announced today it will name its clinics the Rutherford Cancer Centres (WalesOnline, 2017).

The centres will offer patients a comprehensive range of cancer treatments and, from 2018, will be the first in the UK to offer high energy proton beam therapy. The oncology centres have been named to reflect the Nobel prize winning scientist Ernest Rutherford’s contribution in identifying and naming the proton in 1911.

The Newport centre is nearing completion and will offer chemotherapy, radiotherapy and imaging via the latest planning and treatment technologies. Positron emission tomography – computed tomography (PET-CT) will be available in the second half of this year and proton beam therapy will be available at the centre from early 2018. Treatment at the Rutherford Cancer Centres will be available to medically insured private patients, self-paying patients and patients referred by the NHS.

Professor Gordon McVie, chairman of Proton Partners International, said “Proton Partners International is committed to transforming cancer care in the UK. The Rutherford name is synonymous with a major breakthrough in cancer treatment and therefore we felt that this was a fitting identity for our treatment centres. With cancer on the rise, there is a growing need for patients to be offered a holistic and sophisticated level of cancer care. Patients at the Rutherford Cancer Centres will have access to a wide range of cancer services and a treatment plan will be implemented on an individual basis.”

Mike Moran, chief executive officer of Proton Partners International, said “We are working with the world’s leading technology partners to ensure that our centres are equipped with the latest cancer technology. Our centres will have the capacity to treat 500 unique patients a year. We will also network our centres to ensure the data they will provide can play a significant role in cancer research. We are committed to undertaking a genomics programme which will collate, analyse and distribute data through our research facility at the Life Sciences Accelerator centre in Liverpool.”