Trust praised for 'excellent' brain tumour care

A Leeds hospital trust has been recognised for its outstanding treatment of brain tumours.

Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust has been announced as a Tessa Jowell Brain Cancer Centre of Excellence - one of 14 nationally.

The award recognises centres that provide excellent treatment, care and research opportunities for patients with brain tumours, with services measured on several criteria.

The trust was originally recognised in 2021 but had to reapply last year.

More than 12,000 people are diagnosed with a primary brain tumour in the UK every year, according to the Brain Research UK charity.

Ryan Mathew, associate professor and honorary consultant neurosurgeon at the trust, accepted the formal accreditation in a London award ceremony on Thursday.

"Our patients walk into this hospital and are given an awful diagnosis, but know the care they are going to receive is the very best," he said.

The trust was singled out for streamlining its procedures to decrease the time from when a patient is diagnosed to when they have surgery.

The Tessa Jowell Brain Cancer Centre for Excellence was established in 2020 to help ensure the best standards for patients.

Dame Tessa, who died in 2018 aged 70, played a major role in securing London 2012 as culture secretary and later campaigned for the availability of further cancer treatments through the NHS.

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