No images? Click here Welcome to the February edition of the Peninsula Cancer Alliance NewsletterHappy New Year Everyone! We have really brought the year in with a bang at the Peninsula Cancer Alliance and have been working closely with all our Trusts to ensure that our cancer services continue during this difficult period. Enjoy this addition and the update on our recent projects. These news items will also be appearing on our website.A message from the board: Jonathan MillerHello and welcome to the second edition of the Peninsula Cancer Alliance newsletter. I’m the Manager for the Alliance. During this difficult time the Alliance has continued to focus on supporting our clinicians with making improvement to the services they offer our patients, in particular those that help us to cope better with the restrictions that Covid creates. The developments in our Non-Site Specific Cancer pathways and the recent purchase of dermatoscope are two examples which we have included in this edition. It was really pleasing to have our work on the introduction of the FIT test for bowel cancer published in the British Journal of Cancer this month. We also continue to explore ways to understand and better support our patients and we have included some updates here. But we are also focused on supporting services to operate as normally as possible during the pandemic. We have been working with the surgical, radiotherapy and chemotherapy teams across Devon and Cornwall to ensure treatment targets are still being achieved and our services to patients are still available. And we would like to emphasise that if patients have any suspicions and concerns to please contact their GP. Recently it was Cervical Cancer Prevention week, I would really like to raise the importance of continuing with screenings when reminders come through. With the vaccine roll out going strong we hope to see the pressure in our hospital reduce and to continue working to deliver the goals set out in the NHS Long Term Plan. Non Site Specific Pathway LaunchThe Peninsula Cancer Alliance are pleased to announce the launch of the Non-Site Specific Cancer pathways in Trusts across Devon and Cornwall. Patients in areas served by hospitals in Plymouth, Barnstaple and Truro now have access to a service for urgently investigating symptoms or signs that suggest cancer, but which do not fit any of the referral criteria for site-specific pathways. Areas served by hospitals in Exeter and Torbay will shortly be able to access the same service and we will keep you updated on this. To date around 50 patients have been referred on this pathway and at the point of last reporting the cancer conversion rate was 11%. We know that GP suspicion of cancer is a powerful predictive tool sometimes not served well if the doctors clinical judgement is not matched with the criteria for one of the site specific routes, and we hope that provision of this pathway will allow GPs to pull into one place the various ways in which they have been managing this patient group. These pathways are not a suitable means of investigating people with chronic symptoms in whom the GP has a low suspicion of cancer. To access this service, clinicians should read the Clinical Referral Guideline and Suspected Cancer Referral Forms. These will also be available on the formulary websites. Patient and Carer RepresentativesThe Peninsula Cancer Alliance is looking for patient or carer representatives to support our Site Specific Groups in considering and prioritising the needs of the patient and the public. Within the Peninsula Cancer Alliance there are 13 site specific groups each working to transform services and improve patient outcomes by drawing together leading clinical expertise and multidisciplinary team members for specific tumour sites. Patient or carer representatives would become core members of one of the groups to provide their unique perspective on the cancer pathway from diagnosis, treatment and living with and beyond cancer. If you are interested in becoming a patient representative on a site-specific group, or if you would like further details in order to discuss with a potential representative, please email rde-tr.peninsulacanceralliancessgs@nhs.net for further information and an application pack. Dermatoscope roll out to improve skin diagnsosisThe Alliance has purchased 264 dermatoscopes, one for each GP practice that requested one, along with a textbook in the use of dermatoscopes in skin diagnosis. A dermatoscope is a device for looking at the skin, using magnification, polarised light and contrast. This allows the user to distinguishing benign from cancerous lesions, especially in the diagnosis of malignant melanoma. The dermatologists in the Peninsula are also organising a series of on-line webinars for GPs in skin diagnosis. These will be recorded, and the Alliance will also provide access to other education resources for GPs to access at any time. The principle aims of the training and the new dermatoscopes is to support GPs in being confident when a skin lesion is benign and can be managed by the GP. When a GP does need to refer a patient, they can capture the digital dermatoscope images with their smartphone and send them with the referral, via the Consultant Connect app, which the Alliance has also funded. These images help the dermatology team put patients into the right sort of clinic and may allow in time for some patients to be discharged without the need to attend a clinic in person. All the of this should support GPs in spotting more skin cancers earlier without having to send more referrals to hospital. Virtual engagement events with patients from ethnic minority backgroundsAlthough not as diverse as other parts of the country, the Peninsula is made up of many different communities from many different ethnic backgrounds. A project jointly led by the Cancer Alliance and Macmillan, is looking at ways in which we can best access the opinions of local ethnic minority communities in a way that feels meaningful to them and which are meaningful in outcome in terms of making real changes to NHS services, not just Cancer Services. This week the project team heard initial feedback from a Devon project that has identified a number of areas where the NHS services could improve including their cultural competency training and more sensitive use of translation and interpreting services. The Patients Association also brought to the attention of the project team member that the NHS and other statutory bodies often seem to approach minority groups and communities ‘when they want something’. The project team made up of acute trusts, CCG and Alliance and the Patients Association is working with other stakeholder groups, in a number of settings including the community, to adopt its engagement so that they work for the long term and it is also hoping to address some immediate patient concerns. As part of their work, two web focus groups are being run, open to all cancer patients and their families from an ethnic minority background on Wednesday 24th February 2021, 10:00 - 12:00 and Wednesday 3rd March, 18:00 - 20:00. If you would like to register your details with us electronically, please do so here or e-mail: England.pcae@nhs.net. Cancer demystified webinars - Essential guide to cancerFurther education of everyone working with the fast changing cancer field is vital. And not just doctors and nurses but MDT coordinators, cancer data collectors, cancer registration staff, clinical trials staff, pharmacists, occupational therapists, physiotherapists, psychologists, radiographers, nuclear medicine staff, medical secretaries, the list is endless. There are many people who work in cancer services who need access to this knowledge. These webinars are everything you need to improve your cancer knowledge without the need for travelling and time out of the office. Each webinar lasts around 60 mins and is run usually first thing in the morning or early afternoon; plenty of time to fit in all the other work that needs to be done and they do not compromise on quality. Feedback tells us that attendees gain additional confidence in the role that they play, from understanding more about cancer and the terminology associated with it. Our patients are very well educated nowadays and quite often they will ask difficult questions about their disease. People working within cancer services need to be equipped with a solid foundation and understanding about cancer to help in these situations. “Thoroughly recommend these sessions. So much easier to understand than any previous teaching I have had. David relates the subjects to easily relatable situations and puts things in very understandable language. Thank you. I feel my patients will benefit from my better understanding of how their treatment works.” Having staff who understand about cancer gives them context to the work they do, and makes things so much easier and meaningful. Clinical coders, data analysts, finance managers, PA’s, Research staff may have no background in cancer as a disease. A deeper knowledge and understanding around cancer supports improved recording and use of information which leads to better services and improved patient experience. The webinars are split into 3 areas really and you can take a look at the topics on offer here The 3 areas roughly split into:
If you have been given a code, then use it to access the webinars. If you do not have a code, then ask your manager or alternatively drop David a line. David has over 30 years’ experience of teaching about cancer and is the author of ‘Cancer Demystified’, your handy reference guide to cancer. His engaging style has benefited many from the NHS, Cancer charities, Pharmaceutical companies and many others to better understand cancer as a disease. To find out more contact David (doh@ohconsultancy.co.uk) or visit www.ohconsultancy.co.uk. Local charity engagement eventThank you to all of the local charities who dialled in to our event on the 8th January. We hope that all the participants felt that the information sharing, networking and mutual support this forum gave to our smaller charities in the region working with cancer patients was something to repeated. The Alliance sees our local charities as more than providers of services that can help the NHS to achieve its goals and ambitions but as influencers and valued stakeholders. The next meeting of this group will take place on Friday 12th February 2021, 11:00am -12.30pm. Please e-mail: England.pcae@nhs.net to receive an MS Teams invitation. Navigator conferenceAs part of the Peninsula Rapid Diagnosis Services Programme, the Cancer Alliance hosted its inaugural navigator conference this January providing an opportunity for staff in these newly formed roles from across the region to network and learn together, safely online. Navigators were invited from a wide range of tumour sites, with representation from each Trust. The sessions were concerned with all aspects of the navigator role. Navigators heard about training and development opportunities and the range of cancer resources and support from CR-UK. Mark Wilson, from Health Education England set out the competency framework for care navigators and the alliance will now support staff to progress through the levels from essential to expert. Real life patient stories were bough to life by Lisa Martin, our Engagement Officer, with Sally Snook and Chris Jones talking through a day in the life of a Lung Navigator at Derriford. They all offered insights through discussion of case studies and raised some important behaviours for navigators to consider. Sue Hackworth, our Macmillan Cancer Educator led the group through a session about communication skills including how to support patients through anxiety and how to have difficult conversations. Jon Miller led a presentation on the opportunities and challenges arising from increased teleconsultation and the host Sarah-Jane Davies provided advice in implementing change and identifying evidence based improvements using the cancer pulse surveys as a starting point. Feedback from the event has been positive: ‘As this role is so new to some of us, this conference was brilliant. Really helpful and informative and gave me a sense of direction for my role.’ The next conference has been booked for March and further details are available from Domonique Curaba: domonique.curaba@nhs.net. Save the dates; Up and coming cancer related dates15 February 2021: International Childhood Cancer Day International Childhood Cancer Day is a global collaborative campaign to raise awareness about childhood cancer, and to express support for children and adolescents with cancer, the survivors and their families. More information can be found here. March 2021: Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month March is Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month. Find out how you can make a difference and get involved in fundraising and awareness-raising at home and across the country. Read more. March 2021: Walk all over Cancer Join thousands of supporters walking 10,000 steps every day in March to raise money for life-saving research. More info. April 2021: Bowel Cancer Awareness Month Take action with Bowel Cancer UK and join their campaigns to help improve early diagnosis and access to best treatment and care for all those affected by bowel cancer. Go on their website to see what they have running over April and find out how you can help on their website. Get in touchIf you would like to get in touch with us regarding anything you have read in our newsletter or would like to be involved with any future projects please contact our engagement team at: England.pcae@nhs.net |