If you are considering radiotherapy for Dupuytren’s and Ledderhose disease, one of the first questions is often where treatment is actually available. In this blog, I will explain where I currently see patients, how the different clinic networks work, where treatment can be delivered, and what options exist if you live a long way from a treatment centre. The most important thing to understand The first thing to understand is that the place where you see me for your consultation is not always the same place where you eventually receive treatment. This is because my clinics operate through several different radiotherapy providers, each with slightly different arrangements. Understanding that structure helps avoid a lot of confusion when patients are deciding where to book. At the moment, I physically run clinics in central London (Cromwell), Guildford, Nottingham, Wimbledon, and soon Manchester. However, those clinics are actually run by three separate organisations, and that affects where treatment can subsequently take place. The GenesisCare clinics The largest network that I work with is GenesisCare. At the moment, the GenesisCare-linked clinics where I personally see patients are the Cromwell Hospital in central London, Guildford, and Nottingham. The Cromwell Hospital clinic in central London is my main clinic and the one I run every week. The key advantage of the GenesisCare system is flexibility. If you are seen in one of these clinics, you can then receive your treatment in any GenesisCare radiotherapy centre around the UK. That is important because many patients do not actually want to travel repeatedly to central …
If you are considering radiotherapy for Dupuytren’s and Ledderhose disease, one of the first questions is often where treatment is actually available.
In this blog, I will explain where I currently see patients, how the different clinic networks work, where treatment can be delivered, and what options exist if you live a long way from a treatment centre.
The most important thing to understand
The first thing to understand is that the place where you see me for your consultation is not always the same place where you eventually receive treatment.
This is because my clinics operate through several different radiotherapy providers, each with slightly different arrangements. Understanding that structure helps avoid a lot of confusion when patients are deciding where to book.
At the moment, I physically run clinics in central London (Cromwell), Guildford, Nottingham, Wimbledon, and soon Manchester.
However, those clinics are actually run by three separate organisations, and that affects where treatment can subsequently take place.
The GenesisCare clinics
The largest network that I work with is GenesisCare.
At the moment, the GenesisCare-linked clinics where I personally see patients are the Cromwell Hospital in central London, Guildford, and Nottingham. The Cromwell Hospital clinic in central London is my main clinic and the one I run every week.
The key advantage of the GenesisCare system is flexibility. If you are seen in one of these clinics, you can then receive your treatment in any GenesisCare radiotherapy centre around the UK.
That is important because many patients do not actually want to travel repeatedly to central London for treatment itself. Instead, they may prefer to have the initial consultation with me and then receive treatment closer to home afterwards.
Where are the GenesisCare treatment centres?
GenesisCare currently has radiotherapy centres across much of England.
These include centres around London and the M25, but also places such as Oxford, Cambridge, and centres further south (including Southampton) and north (including Nottingham).
The full list is shown in the table below:
Birmingham
So, for example, a patient might see me initially in central London or Guildford, but then choose to receive treatment in Portsmouth, Cambridge or Bristol afterwards.
That flexibility often makes the process much easier for patients who are balancing work, family commitments, or long travel distances.
One important thing to take into account is that the treatment tends to start around two or three weeks after seeing me in the clinic, although it can be delayed if necessary due to other commitments.
The Wimbledon clinic
My Wimbledon clinic works differently.
This clinic is run through ICON Cancer Centre rather than GenesisCare. If you are seen by me in Wimbledon, then your treatment would also take place in Wimbledon.
The treatment is currently not transferred into a wider national treatment network afterwards. For patients who live in south-west London or nearby areas, that is often very convenient because the consultation, planning appointment, and treatment are all handled within the same centre.
One advantage of the Wimbledon pathway is that it can significantly shorten the interval between consultation and starting treatment.
In some situations, treatment can begin within a few days rather than the two to three weeks that is sometimes needed elsewhere.
The new Manchester clinic
I am also in the process of adding a clinic in Manchester.
This clinic will be run through Theralife Clinics. If you are seen in Manchester, then your treatment would also take place there rather than being transferred elsewhere.
That will hopefully make access much easier for patients in the north of England who currently travel long distances for assessment and treatment.
Which clinic should you choose?
In practice, the best clinic often depends on geography and logistics.
If you live near one of the GenesisCare treatment centres listed in the table above, then the GenesisCare pathway would make the most sense, because it allows treatment to be delivered close to home after the initial consultation.
If you live near Wimbledon and are happy for consultation and treatment to occur in the same place, then the ICON Wimbledon clinic may be simpler.
Also, if you are travelling from a great distance away, for instance from Scotland or outside the UK, then Wimbledon may suit you due to the much shorter time between the consultation and starting treatment.
Similarly, once the Manchester clinic is fully operational, that will likely become the most convenient option for many patients in northern England.
Not sure which clinic suits you?
If you are weighing up where to be seen and where to have treatment, we are happy to talk it through with you. Get in touch with Dr Shaffer and we can advise on the most practical pathway for your location.
Can you have a video consultation instead?
Yes, sometimes.
I do offer teleconsultations for selected patients, particularly those travelling from a long distance away.
A video consultation is not completely ideal, because Dupuytren’s disease needs a physical examination to make a definite decision about what to do. I can look at a photo and look at the basic finger movements over a screen, but it’s not quite as good as physically examining the nodules, cords and skin changes, or looking in detail to see whether there are any subtle changes in finger movement.
However, in many situations, I can still obtain enough information to at least decide whether radiotherapy is likely to be appropriate.
How teleconsultation can streamline the process
For patients travelling from a long distance away, teleconsultation can sometimes make the treatment pathway much more efficient.
The idea is that we first have a video consultation remotely. If radiotherapy seems like it’s going to be appropriate, we can then organise the planning appointment and treatment itself in a more streamlined way afterwards.
For example, some patients travelling to Wimbledon choose to attend the planning appointment on a Tuesday and then start treatment on the Thursday of the same week.
The first phase of treatment then consists of five treatments over approximately one week.
Three months later, patients return for the second phase of five treatments. Importantly, that second phase usually does not require another consultation appointment beforehand.
For some patients travelling long distances or staying over in the local area for their radiotherapy treatment week, this arrangement can make the process significantly easier.
Why I usually still prefer an in-person assessment
Although teleconsultation can work well in selected cases, I still generally prefer to assess patients face-to-face where possible.
Small details matter in Dupuytren’s disease. Feeling the texture of nodules, assessing cords properly, checking skin involvement, and examining for subtle changes in finger movement all help to determine whether we should consider radiotherapy either now or in the future.
That is particularly important because timing matters in Dupuytren’s disease. The goal is not simply to treat nodules, but to identify active disease at a stage where radiotherapy is most likely to be useful.
What if there is no treatment centre near me?
Some patients live several hours away from the nearest centre offering Dupuytren’s radiotherapy and worry that treatment may simply not be practical.
The good news is that there are often ways to make the logistics easier, particularly through a combination of teleconsultation, streamlined planning appointments, and arranging the treatment sessions efficiently.
I have discussed this in more detail in my separate blog about what to do if there is not a radiotherapy centre near you.
The bottom line
Dupuytren’s radiotherapy is available in several locations across the UK, and patients often have more flexibility than they initially realise.
The most important thing is understanding the difference between where the consultation happens and where treatment can subsequently be delivered.
If you are unsure which clinic pathway makes the most sense for you, you are welcome to get in touch. We can advise on the most practical option based on your location, travel distance, and preferred way of organising treatment.
