The Christie at Macclesfield has appointed its first staff to key roles at the new cancer centre, which is currently being constructed and due to open later year.

The £26m state-of-the-art Macclesfield cancer centre will open in December 2021.

A team of three people will be responsible for maintaining one CT scanner and two radiotherapy treatment machines or linear accelerators which generate the x-ray beams to treat cancer.

Two engineers and a physicist will help ensure that the scanner and radiotherapy equipment at The Christie at Macclesfield are safe, accurate, and available for patient treatment.

Lee Smith (51) from Wythenshawe is the new engineering manager for The Christie at Macclesfield.

He will work with former Royal Navy engineer Lee Nixon (40) from Middlewich who has been appointed as a medical systems engineer.

Physicist James Agnew (34) who lives in the High Peak town of Glossop, completes the trio.

Mr Smith has worked at Wythenshawe Hospital for almost 30 years maintaining medical devices in various maternity and adult ICU departments, initially as part of The Christie Medical Physics and Engineering team, but more recently as part of the Manchester University Foundation Trust, Lee Smith is looking forward to this new and exciting challenge.

Lee Nixon (40) from Middlewich swaps a 23-year career travelling around the world as a submarine weapons engineer to help keep The Christie's radiotherapy machines targeted and locked onto cancer.

Whilst researching career options toward the end of his Navy contract, Lee realised that the basic components of the radar systems which he had previously maintained on submarines were similar to those in the linear accelerators used for radiotherapy.

He said: "I wanted to work for The Christie because it is a trusted and highly regarded organisation. This job means I will be using my existing skills in a new way whilst doing something very rewarding to support patient care for people with cancer."

In his spare time, Lee is building a soapbox racer for his children Isla, Jude and Elijah. Lee is also a keen runner.

He plans to run the Manchester Marathon in October this year to help raise money for The Christie at Macclesfield charity appeal.

James Agnew (34) is the youngest of the trio and has been appointed as a clinical scientist for The Christie at Macclesfield. He started at The Christie as a trainee medical physicist in 2013 after completing a PhD in particle physics at The University of Manchester.

His expertise in the impact of strong magnetic fields on the way radiation dose is measured set him up to work on The Christie's cutting edge MR-linac treatment machine – one of only seven in the world at the time it was commissioned.

James also works in the wider radiotherapy department at The Christie making and checking patient treatment plans.

"I'm very excited about my new role," said James.

"I've got the experience of working in a small team closely with engineers and radiographers to set up a new service at The Christie - the MR-linac.

"This will be invaluable for The Christie at Macclesfield as we aim to get the radiotherapy service up and running as quickly as possible so we can start treating patients.

"The Christie at Macclesfield will treat people closer to home and avoid them having to come all the way into Manchester and that means they can get back to doing what matters to them sooner.

"I'll be responsible for ensuring that the radiotherapy equipment is installed and operates correctly and that the radiation output from each of the machines is safe for treating patients.

"Once the centre is up and running I'll be the main point of contact between the physics team and other staff groups like the radiographers and engineers to keep the service running smoothly."

The Christie at Macclesfield will transform cancer care across Macc and Cheshire, providing care closer to home for more than 1,500 patients a year.

The new centre will provide a range of holistic services including radiotherapy, chemotherapy and a wider range of clinical trials than at present. It will provide 46,000 patient appointments and visits each year.

The Christie NHS Foundation Trust was the first specialist trust to be rated as 'Outstanding' twice (in 2016 and 2018) by the health regulator the Care Quality Commission (CQC).

In 2017, the CQC rated The Christie as the best specialist trust in the country.

The Christie opened in 1901 and is now one of Europe's leading cancer centres and the largest single-site centre in Europe. They the largest radiotherapy provider in the NHS, a title which is set to be boosted with this new Macclesfield centre.

They are also the largest provider in of cancer treatment Europe, with one in 20 radiotherapy treatments delivered at The Christie.

The Christie delivers chemotherapy treatment through the largest chemotherapy unit in the UK, as well as via 12 other sites, a mobile chemotherapy unit and in patients' homes.

They also undertake at least 650 clinical studies in research and development at any one time.

The Christie charity supports the work of The Christie NHS Foundation Trust providing enhanced services over and above what the NHS funds. This includes money for care and treatment, research, education and extra patient services.

The Christie charity needs to raise £23m for the new £26m Macclesfield centre.

Gifts from the public make a huge difference to the care and treatment that The Christie is able to provide to patients and their families.

For any money raised for The Christie, 82p in every pound raised goes directly to the patients.

Macclesfield personal trainer Matt Rigby, along with cheese and tech company owner Simon Spurrell are currently fundraising for the new Macc cancer unit.

They have raised over £4,000, and you can show your support for the Macc runners here.

To support The Christie at Macclesfield go to this webpage or call their team on 0161 446 3988.

You can also donate individually to The Christie as a whole here.

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