A private hospital has treated more than 850 NHS cancer patients with 100 patients receiving care each day to free up hospitals in Southampton to care for Covid-19 patients.

The agreement has been made between University Hospital Southampton (UHS) and Spire Healthcare to enable its Southampton hospital to provide urgent surgery in an environment clear of coronavirus.

The hospital is treating a variety of cancers including gynaecological, neurological, ear, nose and throat, gastrointestinal, urology and supporting cardiac and lung surgery.

Paul Grundy, consultant neurosurgeon and acting medical director at UHS, said: “It became very apparent early on we would not be able to deliver all of the urgent procedures patients required at a time when we were building up to high volumes of patients with the Covid-19 infection.

“We’ve been very fortunate in Southampton that we have excellent relationships with our independent sector partners including Spire and that has seen them work very dynamically with us to enable new surgical lists and services at different sites in different locations very quickly.

“With Spire in particular we have been very lucky in that they have been able to deliver surgery of high degrees of complexity with six theatres running at this site alone and, without that support, we would not have been able to provide really important clinical work through this challenging period.”

Fiona Taylor, hospital director at Spire Healthcare, said: “At a time when the entire nation is quite rightly focused on tackling the coronavirus, it’s critical we look after patients who need other urgent treatment or a diagnosis.”