Patients are being given tours of a Swansea radiotherapy department to help put them at ease before they start their cancer treatment.

Monthly open evenings provide them and their families with a unique opportunity to find out everything they need to know and ask questions.

The radiotherapy department is part of the South West Wales Cancer Centre, or SWWCC, at Singleton Hospital.

Main image above shows patient Phillip Short with, l-r: Anna Iles - interim head of radiotherapy; Nadia Saunders, lead radiographer; Kate Peoples, radiographer; Stuart Foyle, quality improvement radiographer; Charlie Hughes, radiographer; Victoria Meikleham, radiographer; and Caitlin John, senior radiographer.

As the SWWCC is a regional service covering both the Swansea Bay and Hywel Dda health board areas, many patients have to travel from as far west as Aberystwyth to receive radiotherapy.

So these patients don’t miss out on the open evenings if they are unable to make the long journey to and from Swansea, staff use digital technology to provide live online linkups.

The open evenings originally started around 10 years ago and were well received until the pandemic forced a lengthy hiatus. They resumed in 2024 and have proved as worthwhile as before.

Antonio Carrier (pictured right), from Manselton in Swansea, was present at the most recent open evening.

He said: “I thought it was very informative and made the experience a whole lot easier.”

Interim head of service for radiotherapy Anna Iles said: “We started the open evenings originally to try to provide a better background for patients to make them more at ease on first day of treatment.

“Patients and their relatives are really apprehensive. They don't know what to expect. Most people don't really know what radiotherapy is, and don't know what to expect in terms of the machines.

“We provide information on the radiotherapy treatment, show patients around the department and show them the treatment machines which usually they wouldn't have the opportunity to see until they actually start treatment.

“We also give them a brief overview of radiotherapy side effects, the support they receive throughout the treatment and other support services we can offer in and around the hospital as well.”

Representatives of neighbouring Maggie's usually attend, to showcase what they can offer at their centre on the Singleton site.

Patients are also given information on the Macmillan advice line along with financial, dietary and other advice.

Right: Phillip Short from Ammanford, with some of the radiotherapy team. See end of release for full caption.

“We used feedback from the first few years to find out what the patients and their families found most useful,” said Anna.

“The feedback we’ve had has been brilliant. Giving patients and their families the opportunity to come into the department and speak to us helps put them at ease for the first day of treatment.”

Each open evening begins with a tea and coffee welcome, followed by a presentation by radiotherapy staff and a tour of the department.

After that there is a Q&A session, with patients and families also able to ask questions in private.

Phillip Short, from Ammanford, was also at the most recent open evening, describing it as a very worthwhile and informative hour.

“Lots of details were covered which I didn’t know about,” he said. “It was nice to be with a group of people going through the same experience as me.

“Also, meeting a team of very professional people gave me a lot of reassurance. And a lovely cup of tea to boot!”

Patients are also able to enjoy the same benefits even if they cannot get to the Singleton department in person.

“Some do attend the open evenings,” said Anna. “We have patients coming from places like Machynlleth, Saint David's, and Aberystwyth, who travel for a good few hours.

“But obviously for some patients, especially if they're not feeling very well, it’s too much for them, particularly during the winter months.”

So the team came up with the idea of using Attend Anywhere, a secure NHS video call service used in Swansea Bay and elsewhere for online clinics and consultations.

Patients joining remotely can watch the team's presentation and have the opportunity to ask questions in private. There is also a live tour of the radiotherapy machines.

Staff let patients know about the sessions, explaining how beneficial they can be, while posters advertising them are located around the department.

“These evenings would not be possible without the support and dedication of our staff who volunteer to run them,” said Anna.