Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Cambridge Cancer Research Hospital will unite world-class healthcare with cutting-edge research to transform the way we prevent, diagnose and treat cancer.

By uniting a broad community of scientists, clinicians, research specialists and industry leaders under one roof within Europe’s largest life sciences cluster, we will accelerate breakthroughs and drive scientific and economic growth across the region, the UK, and the world.

Cambridge Cancer Research Hospital is a partnership between the University of Cambridge, Cambridge University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, and industry, at Europe’s largest biomedical campus.

Patients are coproducing every aspect of the new hospital and shaping the design. We are grateful for the insight and leadership of our Patient Advisory Group and wider Patient Network.

Researchers, clinical staff and collaborators in industry will all work together in the same building for the first time to deliver innovations in cancer diagnostics and treatment. New discoveries from the labs in the hospital will be brought to patients efficiently and ethically.

We will use new technology, including whole genome sequencing and advances in genomic medicine, to detect and treat cancer earlier and more precisely.

Every patient’s care will be personalised using real-time data and every patient can participate in research and clinical trials.

A multidisciplinary team is designing Cambridge Cancer Research Hospital, comprising of principal architect NBBJ, preferred construction partner Laing O’Rourke, engineers AECOM, patients and staff.

NBBJ are our principal architects and they recently won the Modern Healthcare ‘Best in Business’ award. Find out more about NBBJ’s collaborative approach (opens in a new tab) to designing the new hospital.

Co-production is at the heart of the new hospital. A Patient Advisory Group (PAG) was established in 2021 to enable co-production of cancer services and co-design the development of the new hospital.

Members of the PAG are embedded within most project workstreams and are an integral part of development; challenging and holding members to account, as well as being involved in decision-making.

The Patient Advisory Group (PAG) holds monthly meetings with clinicians, researchers and designers. During these sessions, teams share progress on plans that have already had some patient involvement but require further input.

The meetings give PAG members the opportunity to understand what is needed from a patient perspective before projects move on to the next stage.

Patient co-production is further supported via our Cambridge Cancer Network. The Network comprises a broader group of patients and carers, and charities with experience of accessing services or living with cancer. We keep this group informed of progress and share opportunities to involve them in the development of the new Cancer Hospital.

Find out how you can join the Patient Advisory Group (PAG) or Cancer Patient Network and share your experience.

Cambridge Cancer Research Hospital was granted full planning permission in October 2024 and in January 2025, it was confirmed the hospital will be in Wave 1 of the Government’s New Hospital Programme. (opens in a new tab)

The Chancellor has called for the hospital to be “prioritised” to help kick-start the UK’s economy and unlock the potential of the Oxford-Cambridge growth corridor.

We have appointed Laing O’Rourke as our preferred construction partner to lead the final designs. Groundworks have been underway to start preparing for construction, which we anticipate will start in 2027.

We’re working with Laing O’Rourke to finalise the programme schedule while we progress our Full Business Case, but it is our aspiration to finish construction on the new hospital in 2030.

Cambridge Cancer Research Hospital is in Wave 1 of the Government’s New Hospital Programme, providing £15 billion of new investment for infrastructure over a five-year period across a variety of NHS schemes.

Our plans for the hospital go beyond the conventional scope of an NHS hospital, so additional fundraising and philanthropy (commercial and non-commercial partnerships) will be required to realise the vision for the new NHS hospital. Fundraising efforts are being led by the University of Cambridge and by CUH’s hospital charity, Addenbrooke’s Charitable Trust (ACT).

Find out how you can help turn the hospital into a reality and support fundraising.

We are proposing a ‘cook fresh’ model for food, where meals will be cooked fresh in our kitchen. This is a move away from the current ‘heat from frozen’ model that most hospitals use.

We are currently exploring how this works, including mealtimes, dietary requirements and the offer for outpatients. There will be options for nutritious hot and cold meals available 24/7.

There will be a café on the ground floor for staff and visitors. The café will be open from 7.30am to 7.30pm and will provide hot meals, salad bar and takeaway options.

Cambridge Cancer Research Hospital will be a hub for cancer services including outpatient departments, day units, acute assessment for those with a known cancer and inpatient space.

We will also treat patients for non-cancer haematological conditions, such as Sickle Cell, Thrombotic Thrombocytopenic Purpura (TTP) and Haemophilia.

We will continue to work closely with the main site at Addenbrooke’s Hospital where other essential services for cancer patients are based – such as radiotherapy and those areas that treat and care for patients having surgery.

Our new hospital will deliver additional capacity for day treatment and clinical trials and an expanded emergency assessment unit for cancer patients. Specifically, it will include:

• Wards for Oncology, Haematology, Bone Marrow Transplant and a Young Adult Cancer ward.
• An expanded outpatient department and diagnostic suites.
• A larger joint day unit for Oncology and Haematology.
• Breast Unit.
• Cancer assessment unit to avoid patients needing to go to A&E.
• 77 single inpatient rooms with en-suite bathrooms.

Three world-leading research institutes will also be part of the new hospital, specialising in early detection, integrated cancer medicine and precision breast cancer medicine.

The seven-storey facility will be built on the corner of Keith Day Road and Robinson Way on the Cambridge Biomedical Campus, Europe’s largest biomedical campus, next to Addenbrooke’s Hospital, AstraZeneca and Royal Papworth Hospital.

The new hospital will be approximately 27,083 m² – around the size of eight tennis courts!

The project is pursuing accreditation under the BREEAM for New Construction 2018 sustainability rating, to certify the environmental performance of the building. It also demonstrates a commitment to sustainability and reducing environmental impact.

The new hospital will use an all-electric energy system, powered by air source heat pump, along with photovoltaic solar panels.

The design also includes several terraces, biodiverse green roofs and a central courtyard, as well as tree and flowering planters.

Yes, three of the four wards will have communal day rooms for patients and their friends, family members and visitors. The Bone Marrow Transplant ward (including other cellular therapies) does not have communal spaces due to the need for isolation for patients undergoing treatment. We will be looking at how we can connect these patients within the hospital.

The hospital has also been designed with multiple outside green spaces, along with a café for patients, staff and visitors.

There will also be an inpatient gym and the therapies team are hoping to provide some communal classes for patients. The outpatient gym will provide some communal pre and post-cancer rehabilitation classes.

Yes, there will be three pharmacies:

• Level 2 (ground floor) will provide a service for patients going home following an inpatient admission and for patients collecting medication as part of an outpatient appointment.
• Level 3 (outpatient floor) will provide medication for patients that are participating in a research study.
• Level 4 (day treatment) will be a specialist aseptic pharmacy that produces cancer medication given as part of either an inpatient or day case stay such as chemotherapy. This will also be supported by a larger facility on the main site.

Our three research institutes have been developed strategically to provide infrastructure for equitable world-class cancer research, prevention and care. The following lab spaces and equipment will be avaliable:

• Wet and dry labs.
• On-site facilities for developing new medical devices.
• Short-term space for MedTech start-ups and spinouts.

Cambridge Cancer Research Hospital will have a range of support services on site to support patients. This includes diagnostic imaging, pharmacy and rehabilitation space. There will be a cook fresh on-site kitchen providing catering for our inpatients and a ground floor cafe.

Due to funding and space constraints, it is currently not affordable to include Radiotherapy within the current plans for the new hospital. However, we are designing the initial building to be adaptable and include Radiotherapy when funding allows.

The project team continue to work closely with all services and patients to ensure that service changes and benefits are felt by those working or being treated for cancer in other locations.

The reception desk will be staffed during core hours, likely 0800-1800 on weekdays and 0800-1500 on weekends and Bank Holidays (hours to be confirmed).

The reception desks will include lowered sections for wheelchair users. It is envisaged that we will have volunteers on-site to greet visitors.

When the new Cambridge South rail station opens on the Cambridge Biomedical Campus, there will be a shuttle bus and a bus stop outside the new Cambridge Cancer Research Hospital.

Cambridge Cancer Research Hospital won’t have a designated car park, but patients and visitors will be able to use car park 1 or 2 on the Cambridge Biomedical Campus, both are a few minutes walk from the hospital. The campus has an electric shuttle bus to transport people around the campus, from car parks to buildings.

The hospital will have designated cycle parking, drop off bays and disabled bays outside the main entrance.

There is a wider travel and transport strategy for Cambridge University Hospitals and the Biomedical Campus, which continues to evolve and adapt to take account of our more immediate needs whilst also considering the longer-term plan.

Parking at the new hospital will be limited; we are working with teams from across the Biomedical Campus to find the best solutions for patients and visitors.

Cambridge University Hospitals (CUH) currently provides a service to more than 4,000 new oncology patients each year, from the East of England and beyond. Cambridge Cancer Research Hospital will continue this service and will be the specialist Cancer Hospital for the East of England, based in Cambridge.

The current Teenage Cancer Trust ward at Addenbrooke’s Hospital will also move into Cambridge Cancer Research Hospital.

As a part of the overall CUH cancer services, Cambridge Cancer Research Hospital will be where patients in the Cambridge area come to receive some cancer treatments and provide inpatient capacity for those patients who are extremely unwell. Many patients will still have an element of their cancer pathway on the CUH campus where surgical services, radiotherapy, some diagnostics and some outpatient appointments will still be based.

We will also treat patients with non-cancer haematological conditions, such as Sickle Cell, Thrombotic Thrombocytopenic Purpura (TTP) and Haemophilia.

Travelling to Cambridge for treatment is not always convenient or possible for patients. At Cambridge Cancer Research Hospital, we want to use virtual technology and treat patients closer to home wherever possible.

The majority of patients will have a cancer diagnosis or potential cancer diagnosis, but the new specialist hospital will also provide inpatient and day case treatment to non-malignant haematology conditions (such as haemophilia, sickle cell disease and chronic anaemia).

Some patients will also attend clinics for pre-cancerous conditions and for diagnostics.

Cambridge Cancer Research Hospital will be one facility on the Cambridge University Hospitals site. Patients are likely to have an element of their treatment in the new hospital and/or at Addenbrooke’s Hospital.

Where patients need cancer treatment as part of a day visit, outpatient visit or inpatients admission, it will be carried out at Cambridge Cancer Research Hospital, with the exception of surgery and radiotherapy.

We aim to treat the majority [LO1] of cancer types, however there are some rare cancer types which are treated by specialist providers in Birmingham or London. We will continue to work very closely with Royal Papworth Hospital to treat patients with lung cancer and mesothelioma.

Children’s cancers will be treated in the planned Cambridge Children’s Hospital.

Palliative care will continue at the main Cambridge University Hospitals site. We will support all patients in the new hospital to receive the best possible end of life care in the right location for them.

We will maintain our provision of standard treatments for lymphoma, while consistently working to advance early detection methods and increase the precision of our therapies.

Cambridge focuses on advancing cancer research, especially in early detection and personalised genetic treatments, while also supporting other cancer research areas.

A large number of staff will transition from the main site to the new hospital, with a small number of additional recruits to meet increased demand. NHS staff will be joined by research colleagues from the Cambridge Biomedical Campus, aiming to collaborate more closely and accelerate the translation of safe research ideas into clinical practice. Recognising that this represents a significant change for some, we are already exploring the best ways to help everyone forge strong working relationships.

The new building will feature bright, modern spaces where staff can work together, share ideas, and find quiet areas for reflection.