Cancer services

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.