We’re proud to be part of the North East London Cancer Alliance, which the latest data shows is the best-performing network in the country on six of the ten national cancer standards.

The alliance, which includes our partner, Barts Health, brings together clinical leads and managers from NHS trusts and healthcare organisations, working together to transform diagnosis, treatment and care for cancer patients across our combined patch.

Our role in the alliance has helped us reduce the backlog of patients which grew during the pandemic. However, it’s an alliance closer to home which has made a big difference to our patients.

Uche Igbokwe, consultant and Clinical Lead for Histopathology, the service which tests patient samples to confirm whether or not they have cancer, put it best: “Synchronised swimming is not enough, it’s important all teams work together.”

The list involved in diagnosis and treatment of our cancer patients is huge, including; admin staff booking appointments, our Cancer Performance Team which helps ensure they’re seen quickly, Radiology colleagues carrying out scans, nurses supporting their treatment, and consultants setting their treatment plans; so it’s crucial they all work together.

Our staff worked extremely hard during the pandemic to ensure cancer patients continued to get the care they needed, including moving the majority of chemotherapy, some cancer surgeries, and urgent outpatient appointments into the independent sector within just one week.

When a new ‘faster diagnosis standard’ (FDS), was introduced last October, it was a great opportunity for our teams to review how they could work together more efficiently to meet the standard, while improving care for our patients.

The standard sets out that at least 75 per cent of patients with suspected cancer must be diagnosed, or reassured they don’t have it, within 28 days of GP referral. We’ve exceeded the standard every month since it was introduced.

Angela Okyere became FDS nurse for colorectal, upper, and lower gastrointestinal cancers, leading a team of nurses holding telephone clinics for suspected cancer patients. They would triage patients and, in discussion with consultants, decide which tests they needed, and get them booked in quickly.

Angela said: “Patients were pleased not to have to come in as many were scared during the pandemic. When they did come in for tests these were in the Covid-protected green zone which they found very reassuring.

“There was a long backlog and everyone was willing to work extra hard, in many cases over their hours and we did weekend clinics. We had the opportunity to learn new skills, such as approving patient letters, previously done by consultants, giving them more time back for patients on the ward. We also gained confidence in our decision making, so we could book tests immediately based on symptoms, and check with the consultant who agreed 100 per cent.”

Angela and her team also intervened if there were any delays in patient tests, which meant working closely with colleagues in our radiology team.

Cassandra Ademola, interim service manager for radiology, explained how a new booking process helped reduce no shows:

“To tackle the backlog, we needed to understand the bottlenecks, and met with colleagues to review patients where we found the booking process needed adjusting.

“Some appointments were wasted due to no shows as when we called patients for a scan, if they didn’t answer we would just send them a slot. Now, we call twice and also use text messages, which has made a big difference in reducing no shows. While we still have more to do it’s a much better process. We also meet weekly with our Cancer Performance team to track patients, this is great as when issues crop up, we have a place to bring them and find a solution together.”

The work of our teams is making a difference to all cancer patients. We receive around 3,000 suspected cancer referrals each month and 96 per cent of those were seen within two weeks in May, exceeding the national standard of 93 per cent.

Being near the end of the diagnosis process means Uche and his team are often up against the clock, he added: “We pull out all the stops to make up for lost time, prioritising patients who need to be looked at quickly.

“We’re dealing with people’s lives so we really put in the effort. We understand the importance of putting patients’ mind at rest if they don’t have cancer; and getting those who are diagnosed the right treatment quickly. Working efficiently is a passion of mine as it’s critical we make the best use of our resources, which is why it’s so important teams work together. A lot of improvement has happened, and there’s room for more.”