Sharing ideas, to improve care for cancer patients - part 1

Projects covering safe and seamless nursing care at home, cancer chemotherapy commissioning and coordinating cancer care across different sites are among the case studies to be presented in a forthcoming webinar.

Taking place on September, 3 at 1pm, the free, one-hour webinar will feature speakers from the Royal Surrey County Hospital, the Health Service Executive – Ireland and East Midlands Cancer Network.

All the projects featured were finalists in the Quality in Care (QiC) Excellence in Oncology programme, which is run by PMLiVE publisher the PMGroup.

Confirmed speakers who will share their good practice and demonstrate the benefits and adaptability of their initiatives in this webinar include:

• Dr Christopher Eden, Consultant Urologist, The Royal Surrey County Hospital
• Mary Wynne, Area Director Nursing and Midwifery Planning and Development Dublin North East Region, and national lead for nursing and midwifery education in the HSE (Health Service Executive) Ireland
• Colin Ward, Joint Lead Pharmacist, East Midlands Cancer Network
• Dr Kinnari Patel, Consultant in Medical Oncology, Oxford University Hospitals NHS Trust
• Cassie Davis, Information Manager, ClicSargent

The webinar will be followed by sharing ideas to improve care for cancer patients – part 2, which will take part on September, 4 and feature speakers from Bristol Testicular Cancer Service, Mount Vernon Cancer Centre and The Brain Tumour Charity.

QiC Oncology is a tri-partite programme that recognises, rewards and disseminates good practice in cancer management, education and patient care throughout the UK.

The programme is supported by the NHS, prominent cancer charities and leading pharmaceutical companies.

Speaker Biography:

Presenter 1: Dr Christopher Eden – Consultant Urologist, The Royal Surrey County Hospital

Biography: Christopher Eden is a Consultant Urologist in Guildford, Surrey and Old Basing, Hampshire, UK. He was one of the pioneers of laparoscopic urology in the UK, having performed the UK’s first laparoscopic pyeloplasty in 1994, first laparoscopic radical prostatectomy in 2000 and first laparoscopic radical cystectomy in 2001. His personal series of more than 2,000 major laparoscopic urological procedures is complemented by more than 50 peer-reviewed publications on laparoscopic urology. His current clinical research interests include surgery for high-risk prostate cancer and extended pelvic lymphadenectomy for intermediate-risk prostate cancer.

Category entered in 2012 was Helping People Live Longer

Title: Increasing the uptake of extended pelvic lymphadenectomy for intermediate and high-risk prostate cancer in minimal access radical prostatectomy

Summary: The evidence in favour of performing extended pelvic lymphadenectomy (ePLND) during radical prostatectomy (RP) is now clear in terms of an improved cancer-specific survival (CSS) for patients with intermediate- and high-risk prostate cancer regardless of whether the lymph nodes removed are involved (25 per cent improvement in CSS) or not involved (15 per cent improvement) by cancer. This improvement in CSS has been demonstrated by several workers and has been recognised by international guideline-producing bodies, which now recommend that ePLND is performed during RP for these patients.

Presenter 2: Mary Wynne: Area Director Nursing and Midwifery Planning and Development Dublin North East Region, and national lead for nursing and midwifery education in the HSE (Health Service Executive) Ireland.

Biography: Mary’s role comprises policy analysis, application and implementation, by leading and supporting  the delivery of safe and efficient care through the development of national nursing and midwifery initiatives including education.  She is co-author of “A Strategy and Educational Framework for Nurses Caring for People with Cancer in Ireland” and is passionate about improving the patient experience from a quality and safety perspective.

Category entered in 2012 was Patient safety

Title: Safe seamless nursing care for cancer patients at home – a hospital/community initiative

Summary: Patients traditionally receive all systemic cancer therapy in hospital. The aim was to deliver safe, shared nursing care, between hospital and community health services, for patients undergoing systemic cancer therapy. National and regional project management structures were set up to educate community nurses, equipping them with the knowledge and skills to safely and competently provide care, at home, for patients undergoing systemic cancer therapy. Educational preparation was both theoretical and skills based, and delivered over six months.

Presenter 3: Colin Ward: Joint Lead Pharmacist, East Midlands Cancer Network

Biography: Colin Ward is a Specialist Oncology Pharmacist (Leicestershire & Lincolnshire) NHS England and Divisional Lead Pharmacist for Clinical Support Services & Cancer (DHFT), Pharmacy Department, Derby Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.  He has worked in Cancer for 13 years, including approx. 8 years supporting Cancer Networks where his role included monitoring chemotherapy prescribing/expenditure, identifying variations in practice and agreeing consensus lead treatment algorithms to improve equity of access for patients and clinicians.  More recently this has seen Colin take up a role within the Leics/Lincs Area Team of NHS England where he continues to provide expert oncology pharmacy advice. 

Category entered in 2012 was Cancer Commissioning Award

Title: Cancer Chemotherapy Commissioning Doesn’t Have to Be a Black Hole

Summary: The East Midlands Cancer Network (EMCN) demonstrates best practice in commissioning chemotherapy drugs in the interest of patients by driving quality, productivity and equity of care through improved understanding of chemotherapy expenditure in the absence of network-wide electronic prescribing systems. The EMCN programme used detailed expenditure data to facilitate a clinically led commissioner review of prescribing practices.

Presenter 4: Dr Kinnari Patel – Consultant in Medical Oncology, Oxford University Hospitals NHS Trust

Biography: Dr Kinnari Patel is a Consultant Medical Oncologist at Oxford University Hospitals NHS Trust. She is the lead for developing Acute Oncology in the Trust and Chairs the Thames Valley Cancer Network Acute Oncology Group. Dr Patel specialises in treating patients with Upper GI/HPB/CUP or breast cancer. She has been a Consultant for 7 years.

Category entered in 2012 was Patient Safety

Title: Coordinating and improving care for cancer patients across 2 sites: an acute oncology ward in a cancer centre and a teaching Hospital with an A&E

Summary: The Oxford University Hospitals NHS Trust acute services for oncology patients in the Churchill Hospital and John Radcliffe Hospital needed to be restructured. This was in response to intense pressure for acute beds at the John Radcliffe Hospital and oncology needing to contribute to the care of their patients on other wards. The team have been able to help facilitate patient discharge and transfer of patients to the Churchill Hospital thus freeing up acute beds. Also, the increase in Consultant involvement in the care of cancer patients and the development of a dedicated oncology triage service, has led to improvements in the management of patients and reduction in length of stay on the oncology ward.

Presenter 5: Cassie Davis - Information Manager, ClicSargent

Biography: Cassie has worked at CLIC Sargent for nine years. She heads up the charity’s information service, which provides resources for children and young people with cancer and their families at the time of diagnosis, during treatment, and beyond.

Category entered in 2012 was Patient Experience

Title: Shout Out! magazine for 7-13 year olds with living with cancer

Summary: Shout Out! is a magazine for 7-13 year-olds with cancer, designed and written with extensive input from them. It features information about living with cancer, articles and activities to help children with cancer have fun and take their minds off treatment, and content from its readers.

All respondents surveyed enjoyed it, with half reporting feeling happier or more positive after reading it. Issue 1 of the magazine was distributed to children at home and in hospitals last summer, and there have been several issues since.