IT'S official - Southend Hospital's breast unit is one of the country's best.

The efforts of the unit, which treats more than 350 new cases of breast cancer a year, have been recognised with a certificate of merit in the oncology team category of the Hospital Doctor awards.

The breast unit plays an active role in multi-centre trials - last year one third of patients took part in the trials, exceeding the national target by 23 per cent.

Published Monday, December 5, 2005