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19 Sept 2025
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19 Sept 2025
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North West Cancer Centre is the first cancer centre in Northern Ireland to receive this prestigious accreditation
The European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO), which is the leading European professional organisation for medical oncology, has presented the North West Cancer Centre (NWCC) at Altnagelvin with ESMO accreditation as a Designated Centre of Integrated Oncology & Palliative Care for 2025 - 2027.
North West Cancer Centre is the first cancer centre in Northern Ireland to receive this prestigious accreditation which was presented to NWCC staff during the ESMO world congress at Barcelona.
This prestigious programme recognises cancer centres that provide the highest standard of integrated oncology and palliative care services, with the goal of improving research, education and clinical practice by setting standards for service development.
The NWCC was awarded this accreditation by fulfilling 13 strict criteria based on recommendations from the World Health Organization on the provision of palliative care for patients with cancer.
Geraldine McKay, Director of Unscheduled Care, Medicine, Cancer and Clinical Services at the Western Health and Social Care Trust said: “Congratulations to all our staff at North West Cancer Centre and all those who support them in achieving this accreditation.
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"This really is global recognition of the high quality and compassionate care that our staff provide to our cancer and palliative care patients each and every day."
Speaking about the global recognition, Dr Raafat Malek Abdelsayed, Consultant Clinical Oncologist at NWCC said: “We are honoured to receive the ESMO certification, which is granted only to outstanding oncology centres in the world.
"At the NWCC we are dedicated to providing comprehensive cancer care, integrating oncology and palliative care services seamlessly."
A celebration event took place at the North West Cancer Centre on Friday 18th July 2025. This was attended by Neil Guckian, Western Trust Chief Executive, Dr Tom Frawley; Western Trust Chair and Mayor of Derry and Strabane District Council Ruari McHugh, to celebrate this prestigious achievement.
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