Following the most recent National Cancer Patient Experience Survey, The Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust (SaTH) had several areas that required improvement. Actions are now being put into place to enhance patient experience for the patients and their loved ones. This includes supporting our Cancer Care Navigator workforce by enabling and encouraging learning development opportunities; continually growing engagement with our colleagues in the primary and voluntary sectors, collaborating on initiatives, and supporting each other to be able to assist those affected by cancer; and ensuring information is being about the Research and Innovation Team is being publicised to other staff and the public. 

Improvement work is key to ensuring SaTHmoves forward with the ever-changing healthcare picture. That’s why SaTH is dedicated to work on a wide variety of improvement projects including: the psychosocial mapping project with NHS Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin and partners, the project around improving information for breast radiotherapy patients being led by the Operational Delivery Network, improving the Cancer Patient Charter which outlines the rights and responsibilities of SaTH and those who visit, working in a project to support the development of a toolkit to support professionals in dealing with cancer and domestic abuse, and collaborating with Shropshire Healthwatch with the current focus on Living With and Beyond Cancer. 

Within Personalised Care, SaTH is always looking to improve its service to support anybody affected by cancer. We do this in a number of ways including holding monthly Living Well Sessions within the community open to anybody affected by cancer, continually developing the Cancer Wellbeing, Information & Support App which enables people to access information at the right time for them (over 1,000 downloads to date), building connections and relationships with services and organisations within the community and voluntary sector and continuing to embed the different elements of Personalised Care as outlined in the NHS Long Term Plan. This includes ensuring everybody is aware, and when appropriate, offered, a Holistic Needs Assessment and Personalised Care & Support Plan as well as continual work to develop and embed Treatment Summaries for patients following the end of their treatment.  

In addition to this, SaTH continue to develop initiatives following patient feedback including our Men Like Us Cancer Support Group that launches at the end of this month. SaTH also pride itsself on working collaboratively with services and charities; most recently, SaTH has been working with Lingen Davies on several initiatives including a Horticultural Therapy Course, working with Bloomin’ Lovely, and a wellbeing experience for those living with cancer, working with Fordhall Farm Community Land Initiative. 

SaTH have a plethora of projects underway within our individual cancer tumour sites to improve the pathway for patients. Not only are these projects working on delivering time saving efficiencies for patients on cancer pathways, but they focus on improving patient experience and outcomes.