St Luke’s Radiation Oncology Network becomes First Novalis Certified Centre in Ireland
St Luke’s Radiation Oncology Network has become the first centre in Ireland to achieve Novalis certification for its stereotactic treatment, becoming the 26th centre in the world to date to receive this best-practice accreditation.
- Only 24 Novalis certified centres in the world;
- St Luke’s Hospital has increased the number of patients it treats on its stereotactic programme by up to 40%.
St Luke’s Radiation Oncology Network has become the first centre in Ireland to achieve Novalis certification for its stereotactic treatment, becoming the 26th centre in the world to date to receive this best-practice accreditation. Stereotactic treatment allows very precise delivery of high doses of radiotherapy to a targeted area. This means that highly-effective treatment can be delivered in very few treatments, ranging from a single treatment up to 5, with reduced side effects for many patients.
Novalis Certified is an independent accreditation program that promotes the delivery of cranial and body radiosurgery at a level of efficacy and safety commensurate with a high standard of clinical practice. Upon becoming Novalis Certified, the center joins a prestigious community of hospitals that have demonstrated the requisite clinical capabilities and standards for treatment delivery.
St Luke’s Network provides both intracranial and extracranial stereotactic treatment; it is the only radiotherapy centre in the HSE providing this treatment. The programme is delivered by dedicated teams of multi-disciplinary staff who have undertaken specialised training.
For St Luke’s, the awarding of this certification is a huge vote of confidence in the hospital and its staff, and recognition of the high standards that the network promotes. It demonstrates that the network is at the cutting edge of radiation treatment in not only Ireland, but also the world.
Dr Orla McArdle, Network Manager at St Luke’s, said:
“We are thrilled to have achieved Novalis certification. This is testament to the dedication and commitment of all the staff here at St Luke’s in delivering this programme. Indeed, over the past number of years, we have successfully increased the programme capacity in response to patient demand.”
Stereotactic treatment is being increasingly recognised as the treatment of choice in specific patient scenarios. St Luke’s clinical development strategy has been aligned with this emerging evidence base so that patients have access to cutting edge radiation oncology treatment.
“We have increased capacity on our intracranial programme by 40% from 2015 to 2016, while our lung programme increased by 33%,” Dr McArdle continued. “We are committed to developing these programmes further so that patients from across Ireland can continue to receive the best care possible".
“This progress would not be possible without the significant support of the Friends of St Luke's who provided very substantial funding of approximately €1m for the intracranial programme at its inception and continue to do so.”
The Novalis Circle is a worldwide network of clinicians dedicated to the advancement of radiosurgery. Novalis® Radiosurgery users represent the leading edge in the application of Stereotactic Radiosurgery (SRS) and Stereotactic Body Radiation Therapy (SBRT) and their participation in the Novalis Circle community indicates their strong commitment to improving healthcare. Novalis Circle provides a communication and collaboration network for developing new ideas and optimizing treatments that will continue to change the face of cancer treatment. The Novalis Standard was established and approved by a Novalis Circle expert committee.
Commenting on the certification, Dr David Fitzpatrick, Radiation Oncologist at St Luke’s Hospital said: “The Novalis Certification program demonstrates our commitment to the highest levels of quality and safety for radiotherapy; we are honoured to be the first hospital in Ireland which promotes a culture of excellence for physicians, hospitals, patients and their families.”
For more information, please contact:
Paul Fox, PR360: paul@pr360.ie; 085 146 6671
Nuala Ryan, PR360: nuala@pr360.ie; 083 421 2733