Breast cancer support programme to be extended to Peterborough

Charity Breast Cancer Now has been working since 2019 with hospitals in the southern half of the East of England, covering Bedford, Luton and Milton Keynes, Hertfordshire and West Essex, Mid and South Essex, to implement its innovative Service Pledge programme, thanks to support from the East of England Cancer Alliance.

Now the East of England Cancer Alliance and Breast Cancer Now are extending the programme to hospitals in the north of the region, which covers Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, Norfolk and Waveney, Suffolk and North East Essex.

The success of the Service Pledge in southern hospitals in responding to local patient needs and feedback, has helped earn Breast Cancer Now a place as finalists in this year’s Patient Experience Network National Awards, with winners to be announced in September.

Candice Johnson, 36, from East Tilbury in Essex, was diagnosed with breast cancer in August 2018 and had chemotherapy, surgery, and radiotherapy treatment at Basildon Hospital.

Candice was a patient representative for the Breast Cancer Now Service Pledge at the hospital and said: “Being diagnosed with breast cancer was a total shock. I found it challenging to adjust to the news and the impact it would have on my body. There were times during treatment that I felt I needed access to more support.

“The Service Pledge meant that the nurses and patients could have conversations about our experiences and what could be improved, and I felt that I had a voice. It’s really helped make a difference for breast cancer patients in my area.” Nick Hulme, Chief Executive at East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust, chairs the Cancer Alliance (north).

Nick said: “We know that great things can happen when cancer patients are asked what matters to them, as experts in their care, and their voices are heard.

“I welcome this opportunity for all our hospitals to work with Breast Cancer Now as part of its Service Pledge programme.

“We want to learn from patients, their families and carers, how to drive real changes now and to keep improving for the future, so that services are consistently high quality and responsive throughout our region.”

Baroness Delyth Morgan, Chief Executive at Breast Cancer Now, said: “It is wonderful to see the impressive patient-led service improvements already delivered as a result of the East of England Cancer Alliance signing up to our Service pledge.

“We now look forward to supporting the north of the region as they too pledge to achieve the very best standards of care for all patients with breast cancer.

“By continually improving services, Cancer Alliances can support more people with breast cancer to live, and live well.”

Gini Melesi has more than 30 years’ experience as a cancer nurse and is Head of Transformation at the East of England Cancer Alliance (south).

Gini said: “The Breast Cancer Now Service Pledge programme provided our breast cancer nurses with an opportunity to turn what their patients tell them they need into direct actions and to improve care for all patients with a diagnosis of breast cancer.”

The Breast Cancer Now Service Pledge is a programme dedicated to improving breast cancer services, bringing together patients, healthcare professionals and Cancer Alliances to work in partnership to design and deliver a concrete action plan of improvements, for everybody’s experience of breast cancer. To date, more than 120 breast services across the UK have worked with patients to develop their local Service Pledge, delivering over 400 improvements for primary and secondary breast cancer patients in the past five years.