Sir Anthony Mamo Oncology Centre (SAMOC) opened its doors in December 2014, initially serving oncology outpatients. By September 2015, it fully migrated all oncology, haematology, and paediatric oncology services from Sir Paul Boffa Hospital. SAMOC, interconnected with Mater Dei Hospital, specialises in Oncology and Haemato-Oncology, offering innovative inpatient and outpatient care and comprehensive treatment of oncological conditions. SAMOC includes five clinical areas for inpatients: two oncology wards, one radioisotope unit, one haematology ward, and one palliative care ward. The outpatient’s unit features 12 clinic rooms and a day ward. SAMOC also has a radiotherapy department which treats 1200 patients on average per year. A clinical support services unit encompasses various allied health professions, psychological and social work services and facilitates easy access to the Malta Community Chest Fund office. Special mention must be made to the 300 staff at SAMOC, made up of healthcare graduates, management, administration, engineers, maintenance, and IT graduates. This team is committed to deliver cancer care services through a collaborative, highly skilled, specialised multidisciplinary team with the aim to provide holistic and compassionate care.
Cancer care spans the whole patient pathway from screening or initial referral for suspicion of cancer to having a cancer diagnosis and treatment, followed by survivorship, palliative care, or end-of-life care. More than 1,000 new cancer patients were treated by Chemotherapy at SAMOC in 2023. Patients who require chemotherapy as part of their treatment are all referred to the Chemotherapy Practice Nurse and are appointed for a pre-chemotherapy education session. During the treatment pathway, support lines are available to patients and their families daily to address patients’ concerns and side effects of treatment. The Cancer Care Pathways Directorate, under the auspices of the Director General Health Services, was established in October 2014, to oversee this cancer care pathway and cancer services, with the aim to implement the National Cancer Plan for the Maltese Islands. The Cancer Care Pathways Directorate and its teams are housed within the Oncology Centre and works hand in hand with other entities to ensure coordination of services, timely access to care and develop advancements in cancer care. This Directorate developed several key services throughout the past years, including a Fast Track unit, Nurse Navigator services, a Survivorship team, Research and Oncology Systems units, significantly improving patient care pathways at a National level. The World Health Organisation ‘hailed’ these advancements in 2022 and recommended other countries to adopt similar systems in their own hospitals.
A bilateral arrangement with Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust has contributed significantly to the developments in radiotherapy, both in terms of equipment validation and of planned evolution in treatment methodology. A major advancement in the Radiotherapy Department at SAMOC is the recent introduction of the Elekta Unity MR Linac system, which enables adaptive radiotherapy that adjusts the treatment based on the patient’s daily anatomy. This system also features comprehensive motion management (CMM) which allows for monitoring of target motion, interrupting the treatment until the tumour is in the optimal position, which significantly enhances treatment precision and accuracy.
With the significant cooperation of doctors, nurses and management support, a notable initiative, ambulatory chemotherapy, began in October 2023, allowing around 22 patients to continue chemotherapy at home, reducing hospital stays at SAMOC. This initiative will be complemented by a continued transfer of care from the hospital environment to an oncology community-based outreach service that will see patients enjoying the comforts of their families for a larger part of their treatment.
Despite cancer remaining a leading cause of death, Malta has registered the lowest cancer mortality rate in the EU in 2021. SAMOC’s ongoing efforts are critical to further improve cancer outcomes and patient experiences through research, infrastructure enhancements and new treatment methodologies. Through close collaboration with all healthcare professionals, Quality Assurance personnel within the centre aim to establish and sustain a quality system that drives continues improvement. The main goal of the multidisciplinary team approach within the centre is to cure cancer patients or prolong life considerably, ensuring a good quality of life. In the coming years, the Sir Anthony Mamo Oncology Centre will effectively serve as the backdrop for significant advancements in cancer care which will aim to further improve the outcomes of the fight against cancer.