CANCER patients in Eastleigh can now get their treatment closer to home.

Hampshire Hospitals’ mobile chemotherapy unit now has a new location on its map, visiting Eastleigh’s Fleming Park Leisure Centre so patients in the borough can avoid lengthy hospital journeys.

Since August 2012 the unit has been visiting Andover, Alton and Tadley, but from this month cancer patients in Eastleigh can benefit from having treatment on their doorstep.

The £260,000 unit, named Amy after the great-great-grandmother of Hope for Tomorrow supporter Lord March, is owned and maintained by the charity and operated by the hospital trust, which runs the Royal Hampshire County Hospital in Winchester.

Up to 3,000 treatments per year can be delivered on the unit, which has dedicated parking at the sites it visits.

Using the unit reduces the distance many patients have to travel for treatment and helps alleviate costs and stress – crucial at a time when patients are likely to be feeling ill and vulnerable.

Donna Green, from Hampshire Hospitals, said: “This will allow patients in Eastleigh to receive their chemotherapy closer to home and helps us in achieving our goal to provide excellent patient care locally where possible and centrally where necessary.”