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Cancer Diagnosis and Innovations

Aug 19

Humber and North Yorkshire Cancer Alliance announces Innovation Grant winners

By Cancer Diagnosis and Innovations, Patient experience of care

An at-home chemotherapy service, a clinic for Vulvovaginal Atrophy (a common post-treatment late effect for women with Breast, Gynaecological and some Colorectal cancers) and a project which uses virtual reality (VR) to reduce anxiety in young cancer patients are among the inaugural winners of Humber and North Yorkshire Cancer Alliance’s Cancer Innovation Grants programme. 

In April 2024, the Cancer Alliance launched its first-ever Cancer Innovation Grants programme, setting aside £400,000 to fund a wide variety of projects to improve early cancer detection or improve treatment or recovery for cancer patients in Humber and North Yorkshire. 

Fast forward three months and the Cancer Innovation Grants, which were created in partnership with Health Innovation Yorkshire & Humber and the Humber and North Yorkshire Integrated Care Board, have proved particularly popular – with 47 applications received totalling a whopping £1.4million. 

Applications came from a wide variety of backgrounds and sectors, ranging from small, grassroots projects to large-scale innovation schemes. 

A panel was appointed to decide which projects would receive funding and therefore be able to bring their concept to fruition. The panel awarded funding of differing amounts to 12 innovation projects. 

Where possible, those who were not successful in securing funding are being supported to bring their projects to life through collaborative opportunities offered by the Cancer Alliance and its partners. 

Jo Bramall, Pharmacy Technical Services Manager at York Hospital, and part of the winning team behind the at-home chemotherapy service, said: “Being awarded the grant is an incredible achievement for us. It is a real validation of the team’s hard work and vision. With this funding we aim to empower patients to administer their own subcutaneous chemotherapy at home. Our hope is that this innovation will enhance the quality of life for cancer patients and make treatment more accessible.” 

Dr Jenny Ormerod, Consultant Clinical Psychologist at Castle Hill Hospital, said about her winning project: “We are really excited to have received an award for our project, which will test the application and use of virtual reality technology within a Teenage and Young Adult (TYA) cancer unit at Castle Hill. We hope that the use of VR will support patients to manage anxiety about treatment procedures; provide distraction, stress management and a way to reduce isolation.” 

Nabil El-Mahdawi, Consultant in Clinical Oncology at Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, said about his team’s winning grant to open a first-of-its-kind Vulvovaginal Atrophy (VVA) late effects clinic: “We hope this clinic provides female cancer survivors in our region affected by VVA as a result of their cancer treatments easier access to the expertise they require to improve their quality of life.” 

Dr Kartikae Grover, Clinical Director, Humber and North Yorkshire Cancer Alliance, said: “The fact that the Cancer Alliance was inundated with entries worth a value totalling more than three times the allocated funding amount is testament to the important role innovation can play in improving health and care services using the finite resources at our disposal.  

“The Cancer Innovation Grants are an excellent opportunity to develop our local culture of innovation through adopting and developing new ideas, which have a positive impact on patient experience and outcomes and the local cancer system.  

“Everyone at the Cancer Alliance is looking forward to seeing these projects develop from the concept stage and deliver real benefit to cancer patients in Humber and North Yorkshire.” 

Details of the 12 winners: 

  • Administering at-home chemotherapy treatment  
  • An ambulatory chemotherapy service 
  • A clinic for vulva-vaginal atrophy – the first of its kind in the country 
  • Using VR technology with young people with cancer 
  • A cancer and rehabilitation café based in Selby, North Yorkshire 
  • An initiative to increase bowel screening take-up in 11 GP practices in Hull 
  • A project aimed to increase cancer screening take-up among people with learning disabilities in East Riding of Yorkshire 
  • Increasing screening and health check-up rates among people with serious mental health conditions in the Scarborough and Ryedale area 
  • Cancer education classes for people with learning disabilities in North Lincolnshire and North East Lincolnshire 
  • Initiative to improve further ovarian cancer diagnosis  
  • A clinic to support people with lung cancer and/or breathlessness from Roma, Gypsy and Traveller communities in North Yorkshire 
  • A service to support people with cancer-related fatigue 

For more information about the Cancer Alliance’s Innovations Grants initiative, please visit: www.hnycanceralliance.org.uk/innovationgrants. 

Apr 09

Humber and North Yorkshire Cancer Alliance launches the Cancer Innovation Grants 2024/25

By Announcements, Cancer Diagnosis and Innovations

If you have an innovative project that promotes early cancer diagnosis, treatment, recovery and/or patient experience in the Humber and North Yorkshire area, the Cancer Alliance could help you with the funding.

The Cancer Alliance, in collaboration with Health Innovation Network Yorkshire & Humber and the Innovation Research and Improvement System, is proud to announce the launch of the Cancer Innovation Grants 2024/25.

“This is an excellent opportunity to develop our local culture of innovation through adopting and developing new ideas, which have a positive impact on patient experience and outcomes and the local cancer system,” said Kartikae Grover, Clinical Director, Humber and North Yorkshire Cancer Alliance.

The Cancer Innovation Grants form part of the Cancer Alliance’s aim to build a culture of cutting-edge cancer innovations, in line with the NHS Long Term Plan.

From small, grass-roots projects, to larger-scale innovation schemes, the Cancer Alliance is encouraging the development or adoption of innovative approaches to cancer that target local priorities for improvement, with a focus on (but not exclusive to) tumour sites with the highest volume of late stage diagnosis:

  • Oesophageal
  • Lung
  • Pancreatic
  • Colon
  • Rectum
  • Non-hodgkin’s lymphoma
  • Prostate

Who can apply for a Cancer Innovation Grant? 

The Cancer Alliance welcomes applications from:

  • Primary and secondary care organisations
  • Patients
  • Voluntary, community and social enterprises (VCSEs)
  • Wider system stakeholders – e.g. social care organisations

Collaboration is encouraged across organisations and sectors.

What kind of projects will the Cancer Alliance fund?

The Cancer Alliance is looking for newly identified innovations, as well as projects that adopt innovation ideas that have been proven a success elsewhere. Some examples include:

  • Adopting technology or a workforce to implement or embed new ways of reducing demand on diagnostic services
  • Developing patient education solutions, particularly those designed to address health inequalities
  • Initiatives to support increase in uptake of cancer screening programmes, with a focus on specific groups where screening uptake is low

What kind of projects will not receive funding?

Cancer Innovation Grants will not be awarded to support current standards and processes in cancer care – e.g. posts and activities that are part of core services and staffing, such as clinical nurse specialists.

The Cancer Alliance is not able to fund research or projects that require capital funding.

Grants timeline:

  • Applications Open – w/c 8 April 2024
  • Applications Close – 5pm, 31 May 2024.
  • Notification of Grant Award – 21 June 2024

What level of funding is available?

Individual grants will be funded to a maximum of £50,000 and applications to support community-based projects are also welcome at a minimum of £1,000.

How do I apply?

Find out more information on the Cancer Alliance website.

You can view and download the Cancer Innovation Grants Guidance and Application form or contact the Cancer Alliance Diagnostics and Innovation Team at [email protected].

May 16

Funding secured for new Scunthorpe Community Diagnostic Centre

By Announcements, Cancer Diagnosis and Innovations, Treatment and Pathways

Funding has been secured for a new £19.4 million Community Diagnostic Centre to be built in Scunthorpe Town Centre.

The centre – which is due to begin offering some services to the public this winter – will be a one-stop-shop for health checks, scans, and tests, providing you with access to a range of diagnostic tests closer to home, reducing the need to come into hospital and reducing waiting times.

Chief Executive of Northern Lincolnshire and Goole NHS Foundation Trust, Peter Reading, said: “Our priority will always be to provide our patients with excellent standards of care – and we believe that moving some of our diagnostic services out into the community will allow us to do that.

“I’m delighted to say that we have been successful in bidding for £19.4 million from the national funding Community Diagnostic Centre programme to fund the scheme and have submitted a planning application to create a bespoke hub, off Lindum Street – right in the heart of Scunthorpe town centre.

“Our plans are at a very early stage but, should our planning application be successful, we will work with our partners in Primary Care, Community healthcare and North Lincolnshire Council to build the new facility, where we will be able to offer patients tests for a range of conditions, such as cancer, heart and lung disease – including X-Rays, MRI, ultrasound, and CT scans.”

An artist’s impression of the new Scunthorpe Community Diagnostic Centre.
An artist’s impression of the new Scunthorpe Community Diagnostic Centre.

Patients will be referred to the centre by their GP or consultant, and it will operate in parallel to our diagnostic departments at Scunthorpe General for inpatients and those requiring emergency care.

This will allow us to conduct an estimated 146,000 additional checks every year, enabling us to see more patients, more quickly, reducing waiting times and helping you to access the care you need in a more timely way.

This is not only more convenient for patients but is also more efficient for staff and frees up clinician time to help further cut the waiting lists.

Alex Seale, North Lincolnshire Place Director, NHS Humber and North Yorkshire Integrated Care Board, said: “One of the biggest potential benefits to you as patients would be that you’d no longer need to come onto our busy hospital site in order to have these tests carried out. Instead, you’ll be able to go to the town centre, where parking is plentiful and there are excellent public transport links. This also has the added benefit of freeing up parking for those who do need to come to the hospital.

“There are also infection control benefits, as reducing the number of people coming to our acute hospital sites naturally reduces the risk of spreading infections.

“We are very excited about the plans and the benefits they could bring to you, and we look forward to hearing whether our application has been successful.”

Leader of North Lincolnshire Council, Councillor Rob Waltham, added: “This is great news for North Lincolnshire residents and another positive note for the High Street with more Government cash backing the plans to build a new future.

“This new health centre will have a massive impact on residents’ access to critical health services, further improving health and wellbeing for thousands of people.

“It is also further good news for the town centre in Scunthorpe – a major investment, backed by government, which will drive more people into the town centre for more reasons.”

The funding for the scheme was announced today by the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, Steve Barclay, who also revealed funding had been granted for a further five Community Diagnostic Hubs across the country.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said:“I have pledged to cut waiting lists and these new Community Diagnostic Centres will do exactly that. By offering checks, tests and scans closer to home, we can speed up the diagnosis of illnesses like cancer and heart disease and ensure patients get their treatment quickly.

“These centres revolutionise the way the NHS delivers care and crucially, they are saving lives.”

Mr Barclay added: “Based in the heart of communities, they are making it easier for people to access life-saving checks and cutting out unnecessary hospital visits.

“They have already made a huge difference, delivering nearly four million tests, checks and scans since the programme started in July 2021, helping to deliver on the government’s commitment to cut waiting lists.”

Dr Vin Diwakar, NHS Medical Director for Transformation, said:

“The NHS delivered a record 2.3 million diagnostic tests in March, up more than 128,000 on the previous monthly record, thanks to the hard work and dedication of our staff.

“These new CDCs will continue to increase access to care by providing vital scans, X-rays, endoscopies and blood tests closer to patients’ homes, building on the progress we have already made to drive down the longest waits and diagnose cancer earlier.”

Feb 20
picture of a hospital room bay with a row of beds on the right and a bay on the left with the curtain closed

Blog: Wendy Scott, the Managing Director of the Humber and North Yorkshire Collaboration of Acute Providers

By Blog, Cancer Diagnosis and Innovations, Treatment and Pathways

Hello colleagues, I am Wendy Scott, the Managing Director of the Humber and North Yorkshire Collaboration of Acute Providers, more commonly referred to as CAP – we love an acronym in the NHS, don’t we!

The Collaboration of Acute Providers (CAP) is one of several provider collaboratives operating across the Humber and North Yorkshire Integrated Care System (Humber and North Yorkshire Health and Care Partnership) – others include the mental health, voluntary sector, primary care, and community provider collaboratives.

For those unfamiliar with the term, provider collaboratives are partnership arrangements involving two or more NHS trusts working at scale to benefit their populations. While providers have worked together for many years, the move to formalise this way of working gives providers the opportunity to combine resources and expertise to learn from each other and address the challenges they are facing.

The CAP consists of the four acute trusts in the our region – Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust; Northern Lincolnshire and Goole NHS Foundation Trust; York and Scarborough Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust; and Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust.

“The Collaborative of Acute Providers is working to ensure that the people of Humber and North Yorkshire have timely access to the same standard of acute care and are supported to achieve their best health.”

– Wendy Scott, the Managing Director of the Humber and North Yorkshire Collaboration of Acute Providers

We have been working collaboratively in this way for some time now and by working together we have agreed an elective and diagnostic recovery plan, optimising our joint capacity to ensure we manage our waiting list.

In terms of now and the future, we will use our collective expertise and resources to ensure that people have timely access to high quality care and are supported to achieve their best health.

We will do this by:

  • Being bold and ambitious in the standards of care we want for our patients and delivering those standards consistently.
  • Working together with our communities to tackle inequalities in patient outcomes, experience and access of services.
  • Investing and developing our workforce (existing and new staff), working with partners to ensure Humber and North Yorkshire is a great place to work.
  • Being a valuable partner to work with, across the health and care sector and voluntary, community and social care sector.
  • Using our NHS resources effectively and efficiently to make sure people have access to the right treatment and care at the right time, delivered by the right staff.

It has been widely documented in the media that demand for NHS services has reached levels never seen before. We have made positive progress in recovering  services following on from the Covid Pandemic and we are exploring every opportunity to grow our capacity to meet future needs.

With that in mind members of the CAP are working together to:

  • Develop a strategic approach to clinical services focusing on vulnerable services and a strategic response to clinical networks and associated cross system working arrangements.
  • Deliver elective recovery (covering inpatient, diagnostics and cancer) to meet or exceed national benchmarks, standards and targets.
  • Deliver urgent care standards and requirements across providers and local systems to reduce variation and improve consistency of response.
  • Build capacity and capability in clinical support services to achieve appropriate infrastructure in place to delivery strategic clinical aims.
  • Establish and deliver appropriate corporate strategies to enhance integration and tackle variation including approaches to collective planning, rationalised and aligned estates/capital process and development of underpinning approaches in workforce.
  • Continue to build capacity and capability within and across HNY CAP to meet ongoing requirements.
Feb 06
picture of a person in a blue hospital gown laying on the bed of a CT scanner with their hands above their head and a nurse next to them operating the scanner

Blog: NHS Targeted Lung Health Check Programme launches in North East Lincolnshire

By Awareness and Early Diagnosis, Blog, Cancer Diagnosis and Innovations

An update from Stuart Baugh, Programme Director for Humber and North Yorkshire NHS Targeted Lung Health Check Programme, as it launches in North East Lincolnshire. 

Following the success of Lung Health Checks in Hull, which have to date assessed over 15,000 people for lung related health problems and helped to detect 75-80% of lung cancer cases at earlier stages, I am proud to announce that Lung Health Checks are now also available in North East Lincolnshire.

It’s the NHS’ Long Term Plan ambition to detect more cancers at an earlier stage, saving thousands more lives. Cancer screening plays a key role in this.

I am privileged to have worked with a fantastic team to lead the NHS Targeted Lung Health Check Programme in Hull for the last three years, one of 23 pilot lung screening programmes across the UK.

The Lung Health Check programme checks those most at risk of developing lung cancer and helps to detect lung cancer cases earlier than usual, giving people improved chances of treatment being effective and ultimately saving lives.

The programme is being offered to over 19,000 past and present smokers aged 55-74, in a phased approach over the next year. It started in Immingham in January and will gradually move across the county by GP practice. Anyone who is eligible will be written to and invited to book an appointment at a time that’s convenient to them when the unit is in their area.

Lung Health Checks consist of an initial telephone consultation that runs through any breathing issues people may be having, as well as lifestyle, family and medical history. If a certain level of risk is identified, then the person might be invited for a low dose CT scan on a mobile unit in the local community.

The scan only takes a few minutes, and our units are in easy to reach places, such as shopping centre and supermarket car parks, meaning people can easily park up and call in while going about the day-to-day business.

Lung Health Checks don’t just look for cancer, they can also diagnose a range of illness, such as emphysema, bronchitis and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Like cancer, the earlier these diseases are found the easier they can be to treat and in turn this ultimately saves more lives.

I’m looking forward to working with colleagues across North East Lincolnshire to encourage people to take up these vital lifesaving checks and welcome your support with raising awareness of the programme in whatever way you can. If you would like to find out more about Lung Health Checks visit www.lunghealthcheck.org.uk.

 

 

 

 

Stuart Baugh, Programme Director for Humber and North Yorkshire NHS Targeted Lung Health Check Programme

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jun 14
Photo of volunteers standing out side a shop front holding a cheque

Charity shop raises £20k for cancer equipment

By Cancer Diagnosis and Innovations

A charity shop in Cleethorpes has raised £20,000, which will benefit bowel cancer patients at Grimsby hospital.

Sea View Cancer Charity Shop has been drumming up funds for the Health Tree Foundation (HTF) – the hospital’s official charity – for the last four years.

Photo of volunteers standing out side a shop front holding a cheque

Volunteers at the Sea View Cancer Charity Shop in Cleethorpes

The money has been raised through donations customers have made and sales made through the store. It will be put towards specialist equipment, which will help bowel cancer patients who need treatment during a very difficult time.

Prue Stillings, 72, one of the volunteers, who has worked at the store since it opened in the late 1970s, said: “It is fantastic that the money we have raised will go towards helping cancer patients at the hospital. I have had cancer myself three times so I wanted to give something back to people who have been through what I have.

“All of the ladies that work in the shop are volunteers and one of them is 94! We did struggle during the pandemic as we couldn’t open but things have got better recently. We received a grant from the council which really helped us. We are hoping to continue to raise more money for the charity in the future.”

The shop has previously raised more than £20,000 for HTF’s Rear into Gear appeal, which went towards new state-of-the-art equipment for the Colorectal Team at Grimsby and Scunthorpe hospitals.

Miss Stillings, who has previously been invited to Buckingham Palace to meet the Queen thanks to her fundraising efforts, added: “We started raising money after I lost my father and brother in the same week to cancer. We used to be based on St Peter’s Avenue but eventually moved to Sea View Street. We have raised more than £1 million over the years for various cancer causes.”

Lucy Skipworth, Grimsby Community Champion for HTF, said: “I am delighted that the Sea View Cancer Charity Shop has raised this incredible amount of money for us. It will really help our patients who use our cancer services.”

May 12
Photo of the two lung health check units parked up in a supermarket car park

3,000 people could benefit from ‘life saving checks’ as NHS lung health check service moves to Tesco Superstore in Orchard Park

By Awareness and Early Diagnosis, Cancer Diagnosis and Innovations

3,000 people could benefit from ‘life saving checks’ as NHS lung health check service moves to Tesco Superstore in Orchard Park

Photo of the two lung health check units parked up in a supermarket car park

A high-tech mobile screening unit, which is helping to save lives through earlier diagnosis of lung cancer and other conditions, has just arrived at Tesco Superstore on Hall Road in Orchard Park.

The relocation of the NHS lung health check unit marks the start of approximately 3,000 more people being invited to attend the service, which offers those at increased risk of lung cancer an MOT for their lungs.

The NHS lung health check service originally launched in west Hull in January 2020 and has since delivered over 8,700 assessments, helped to diagnose cancer and other respiratory diseases at an early stage, and provided opportunities for earlier treatment that has saved people’s lives.

Current and former smokers who live in Hull, are aged from 55 to 74 and are registered with a GP in the north Hull area, will receive a lung health check invitation from their GP over the next few weeks.

The lung health check takes place in two stages. The first is an initial phone assessment with a specially trained respiratory nurse.

Christine (left) and Danny (right) sat on a bench outdoors.

Danny (right) received curative treatment after his lung health check helped to identify lung cancer early.

If the assessment finds the person to be at high risk, they will be offered a low dose CT scan of the lungs for further investigation.

The CT scanner is housed on board a high-tech mobile screening unit that has previously been located at North Point Shopping Centre in north Hull and Lidl in west Hull. As the service moves around the city, participants who wish to stop smoking are also offered expert support and advice.

Dr Masood Balouch, a local GP and NHS Hull Clinical Commissioning Group Board member, said: “Having supported many patients with advanced lung cancer, I know how vitally important it is to book your lung health check appointment when invited, even if you feel fine.

“Lung cancer is commonly diagnosed at a late stage as there often no symptoms in the earliest stages, but lung health checks are helping us to spot cancer earlier, often before symptoms occur.

“If you are registered with a GP practice in north Hull and receive a lung health check invite, don’t ignore it – book your appointment straight away. If you are experiencing symptoms of lung cancer, contact your GP straight away and do not wait for a lung health check.”

Dr Gavin Anderson, Responsible Clinician for NHS Targeted Lung Health Checks in Hull, said: “Following an initial telephone assessment with a specialised respiratory nurse, eligible participants may be invited to attend a follow-up CT scan on board the mobile unit.

“There are lots of safety measures on board to reduce any risk of Covid-19 and the dedicated team are available to answer any questions you may have either before or after your appointment.

“Lung health check scan results are analysed by a specialist clinical ‘hub’ within the hospital and participants receive their results in approximately two weeks. If further follow up is needed, participants are referred by the service to their GP or hospital.”

Dr Stuart Baugh, Clinical Director at Humber and North Yorkshire Cancer Alliance, said: “People diagnosed with lung cancer at the earliest stage are nearly 20 times more likely to survive for five years than those whose cancer is caught late.

“The rollout of the NHS Targeted Lung Health Check Programme is a huge step towards achieving our NHS Long Term Plan ambition of catching more cancers at an earlier stage when they are easier to treat.

“The service has already received fantastic feedback from people who have taken part and we look forward to helping even more people as the service continues to move around the city. If you or a member of your family receive a lung health check invitation, don’t ignore it – book your appointment without delay.”

Find out more about lung health checks in Hull at www.lunghealthcheck.org.uk.

Oct 06
Image of CT scanner with someone sat looking at the screens in the booth

New diagnostics capacity to boost access to care in Humber, Coast and Vale

By Cancer Diagnosis and Innovations

People living in Humber, Coast and Vale are set to benefit from earlier diagnostic tests, provided closer to home thanks to investment in new mobile MRI and CT scanning facilities.

The Humber, Coast and Vale Health and Care Partnership (Integrated Care System) has secured an £8.6million share of a £350million national pot, announced by the Government last week (1 October), that will support development of new models of Community Diagnostic Provision. This additional mobile capacity will contribute towards the national combined 2.8 million scans in their first full year of operation.

The HCV Partnership (ICS) is adopting an innovative and collaborative approach to developing and delivering diagnostic services, including the purchase of a mobile MRI and a mobile CT scanner to improve access and reduce waiting times for patients. Over time the mobile service will be deployed flexibly across the region with potential to deliver an additional 500 CT and 500 MRI scans per month.

Photo of Dr Wells stood in front of a brick wall wearing a black suit, white shit and blue tie. Dr Wells is looking at the camera, smiling.

The investment will help to reduce waiting times, improve patient experience and access to diagnostic services, and support the implementation of better pathways of care in key clinical areas including cancer, cardiac and respiratory care.

Dr Nigel Wells, a GP and HCV Partnership (ICS) Clinical Lead, said:

“Our local teams have already made great progress in ramping-up scans and tests back up to pre-pandemic levels. This new investment will help us go even further, whilst also providing a more convenient model of service delivery for patients.”

The increase in scanning capability will help to achieve:

  • earlier diagnoses for patients through easier, faster, and more direct access to the MRI and CT scans needed to understand patients’ symptoms and direct them to the right care as soon as possible
  • a reduction in hospital visits which will help to reduce the risk of COVID-19 transmission
  • a contribution to the NHS’ net zero ambitions by providing multiple tests at one visit, reducing the number of patient journeys and helping to cut carbon emissions and air pollution.

GPs will be able to refer patients to more locally based services so they can access life-saving checks closer to home and be diagnosed for a range of conditions, rather than travelling to hospital. This will be more convenient for patients, more efficient and more resilient to the risk of cancelled tests in hospitals due to Covid-19.

May 27

New Rapid Diagnostic Centre continues to assess patients during Covid-19 pandemic

By Cancer Diagnosis and Innovations

A new service launched in January for patients with symptoms that are cause for concern but do not meet the criteria for urgent referral for cancer, has continued to assess patients despite the Covid-19 pandemic.

The new Rapid Diagnosis Centre (RDC) for suspected cancer is clinically led by James Turvill from Gastroenterology and James Haselden from Radiology.

James Turvill said: “When a patient goes to their GP with symptoms such as unexplained and unintentional weight loss, unexplained loss of appetite, fatigue, nausea, bloating or vague abdominal or unexpected or progressive pain, the GP often has a ‘gut feeling’ of a possible cancer diagnosis.

“Unfortunately, in the NHS system is there is no clear referral pathway for patients with serious non-specific but concerning symptoms unless patients have findings that meet the two week criteria for a site specific urgent referral pathway for cancer.

“The rapid diagnostic one stop clinic is an exciting breakthrough for the York Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and fantastic news for patients who visit their GP with worrying symptoms.”

The early diagnosis initiative involves two Primary Care Networks consisting of 11 GP practices to test and refine the new pathway. Spencer Robinson, Improvement Lead for the rapid diagnosis centre, designed the new service.

Spencer said: “We are very proud to have developed this new cancer pathway from scratch and launched it on time.

“Unfortunately circumstances have changed and we have had to modify the service for a period of time in response to the Covid-19 pandemic. We are still accepting referrals but the ‘one stop approach’ is suspended due to limited access to endoscopy and CT scans.

“Patients are still being assessed and if they are emergency or a high risk are offered diagnostic tests followed by a video or telephone consultation with the RDC consultant regarding outcome and next steps.

A man photographed from the chest up, wearing a blue shirt, brown blazer, blue tie and black thick-framed glasses. He has some grey stubble and is standing in front of a brick wall that is slightly out of focus.

“Low risk patients are supported by the RDC Coordinator and RDC Advanced Nurse Practitioner via telephone with six weekly follow up telephone assessments to reassess their symptoms.”

The centre is supported by Cancer Care Coordinator, Laura Brett and Cancer Nurse Specialist Jo Clark.

Laura said: “The patients we have had through the pathway so far have found the one stop approach to be really valuable, even though it has been a long day for them. We are looking forward to being able to resume the full service. The most rewarding part of my role is getting to meet our patients and provide any support they need throughout the RDC pathway.”

Cancer Nurse Specialist Jo Clark has been working with patients with cancer for over ten years.

Jo said: “The RDC pathway is personalised, reduces unnecessary appointments and tests and improves delays in diagnosis. I have seen the effects that waiting for tests and results can have on patients so improving this part of the patients journey is such a positive step. Even though we are limited  by the current circumstances, we discuss and review the patient’s pathway frequently to make sure we are supporting  them the best way we can through this difficult journey.”

Mikki Golodnitski, Programme Lead for Diagnostics at Humber, Coast and Vale Cancer Alliance (HCV CA) has supported the development of RDCs at York Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and said:

“Over the last 12 months, the HCV CA Diagnostic team have worked in collaboration with York Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust to pilot a full RDC Pathway for patients with serious non-specific symptoms within Humber, Coast and Vale region.

“RDC pathways support the Alliance’s overarching ambition of achieving faster diagnosis for patients and we are delighted that the York RDC team have managed to effectively adapt their services in order to maintain its benefits to patients during the coronavirus pandemic.

“The Alliance continues to work with stakeholders in each locality to build on work that has already commenced to embed the RDC principles and pathways across the Humber, Coast and Vale region.”

To find out how Cancer Alliances are driving force for change, providing dedicated focus and capacity to deliver improvements in cancer outcomes locally, please click here.

May 05
An image of Dan Cottingham, Cancer and End of Life Lead at NHS Vale of York

70% drop in Vale of York Cancer referrals as doctors urge people to visit their GP

By Awareness and Early Diagnosis, Cancer Diagnosis and Innovations

NHS Vale of York Clinical Commissioning Group, York Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and GP Practices from the Humber, Coast and Vale Cancer Alliance are working together to ensure cancer services continue safely, urging people not to delay seeking help if they notice any signs and symptoms of cancer.

Since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, across the Vale of York, there has been a 70% reduction in two-week referrals from GP practices to secondary care. A statistic which is extremely worrying to health professionals as they witness fewer patients making appointments to express their health concerns.

Dr Dan Cottingham, Cancer and End of Life Lead at NHS Vale of York Clinical Commissioning Group said:

”Cancer hasn’t gone away because of coronavirus. There will still be people in our community experiencing signs and symptoms of cancer such as the sudden appearance of a lump, blood in their urine, or a change to usual bowel habits - and so it is vital these people contact their GP practice so a doctor can investigate and refer to a specialist if necessary.

GP appointments are still available for patients to talk through any concerns over the phone or via an online video consultation, and are working closely with cancer specialist teams at York and Scarborough hospitals to ensure urgent cases continue to be seen promptly.”

Accessing a GP has changed during the pandemic but GP practices are continuing to provide the same safe care they always have done.

People who are referred into York hospital for treatment or who are already on a course of treatment can expect the same quality of care, the way that care now looks however may have changed due to the restrictions of the pandemic.  York Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust has redesigned services to enable the safe continuation of quality care during the pandemic.

Laura Milburn, Head of Cancer at York Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, said:

”It is vital that patients experiencing concerning symptoms, especially those that could be cancer, contact their GPs for assessment during the pandemic.

GP and hospital services have had to change significantly to manage the impact of the pandemic but we want to reassure patients who are referred into our hospitals for investigation that we are still providing the same quality of care, just in a different way, ensuring all the appropriate measures in line with government guidance are in place to keep patients safe when accessing services.”

To support with cancer referrals and ongoing cancer services in the Vale of York area, the Humber, Coast and Vale (HCV) Cancer Alliance has accelerated the procurement of home working stations within our region to report from home during Covid-19.

Dr Oliver Byass, Clinical Director for Radiology, Humber, Coast and Vale Cancer Alliance said:

”The collaborative reporting solution sits above our independent picture archiving and communication system (PACS) and work stations within our hospitals and will allow us, as individual radiologists, to report the ‘right test first time’ seamlessly across our organisations and this is going to be transformational as to how we work in the future.

Our work in modern radiology is a lot about diagnostics and trying to get the patient diagnosis both safely and as quickly as possible and we are very fortunate that modern radiology, CT, MRI and ultrasound have amazing diagnostic capabilities.”

For more information on seeking help during Covid-19, read our blog on what to do about possible cancer symptoms.

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