The Joint Health Overview & Scrutiny Committee is scheduled to consider proposals for the future of Mount Vernon Cancer Centre (MVCC). The meeting's agenda includes updates on the clinical case for change, core proposals for relocation to Watford General Hospital, and the care closer to home elements of the plan. The committee will also receive a report on the scrutiny response to the public consultation on these changes.

Mount Vernon Cancer Centre Reprovision Consultation and Care Closer to Home Updates

The committee is scheduled to receive an update on the ongoing consultation regarding the proposed relocation of Mount Vernon Cancer Centre (MVCC) and the associated care closer to home initiatives. The reports indicate that the clinical case for change underpinning the proposals to relocate MVCC has been previously considered. The consultation, which ran from January to March 2026, sought views on moving specialist cancer services to a new purpose-built centre adjacent to Watford General Hospital¹. This would involve relocating services such as diagnostics, radiotherapy, and systemic anti-cancer therapies (SACT), and would also see the re-establishment of specialist haematology services for Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire patients.

The care closer to home elements include proposals for more chemotherapy delivered at home, increased chemotherapy provision at Hillingdon Hospital and Northwick Park Hospital, more local diagnostic tests and monitoring, and the potential for an additional radiotherapy unit at either Lister Hospital in Stevenage or Luton and Dunstable Hospital². The consultation report, published in June 2026, indicates that public opinion on the relocation was divided, with support often conditional on effective mitigation of travel and access concerns³.

Scrutiny Response to Consultation on Proposed Changes to Services Currently Provided at Mount Vernon Cancer Centre

The committee is also scheduled to consider a proposed collective response to the NHS consultation on the future of MVCC services. This report will present the Joint Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee's (JHOSC) formal statutory position under Regulation 23 of the Local Authority (Public Health, Health and Wellbeing Boards and Health Scrutiny) Regulations 2013⁴. The committee will be asked to agree the content of this response and determine if any further action or escalation is required. The JHOSC has previously met to consider the clinical case for change, co-location at Watford, and transport and access considerations⁵. The committee's Chair has been invited to submit a formal response to the consultation by 16 July 2026⁶.