I would like to present a petition from my constituents in Hitchin and Harpenden, who are concerned about the tiring and lengthy journey to London that many cancer patients requiring radiotherapy have to make, sometimes daily. They call for a satellite radiotherapy centre to be established at the Lister hospital. The petition is similar to one presented by my hon. Friend Stephen McPartland and my hon. and learned Friend Sir Oliver Heald and has 1,602 signatures.

The petition states:

The Petitioners therefore request that the House of Commons urges the Government to encourage NHS England to provide a radiotherapy facility at Lister Hospital in Stevenage in order to make the journey for radiotherapy treatment much easier for patients who live in the Hitchin and Harpenden constituency.

Following is the full text of the petition:

[The Petition of residents of the constituency of Hitchin and Harpenden,

Declares that patients who are residents of Hitchin, Harpenden, Redbourn, Sandridge, Wheathampstead and the surrounding villages have to travel to Mount Vernon Hospital in Hillingdon to receive radiotherapy treatment and that this journey is long and exacting and often has to be made on consecutive days.

The Petitioners therefore request that the House of Commons urges the Government to encourage NHS England to provide a radiotherapy facility at Lister Hospital in Stevenage in order to make the journey for radiotherapy treatment much easier for patients who live in the Hitchin and Harpenden constituency.

And the Petitioners remain, etc.]

[P001491]