South west radiotherapy late effects service evaluation published today

We are pleased to share with you the service evaluation for the south west radiotherapy late effects service.

The radiotherapy late effects services were established in a partnership between a number of radiotherapy departments across the south west, led by the respective heads of radiotherapy services, Macmillan Cancer Support, and the Somerset, Wiltshire, Avon and Gloucestershire (SWAG) Cancer Alliance.

These services play a crucial role in improving health outcomes for cancer survivors by delivering specialised, local, person-centred care for managing radiotherapy-related complications.

Radiotherapy-related late effects pose a significant challenge for cancer survivors, often resulting in long-term physical and emotional difficulties that impact their quality of life.

Without these specialist services locally, which are run clinically by therapeutic radiographers and supported by a late effects navigator, patients identified with radiotherapy late effects would have to attend multiple GP and secondary care appointments to identify the cause of their symptoms. Some patients with severe symptoms would require attendance at specialist services significant distances from their homes.

A spokesperson for Macmillan Cancer Support, said: “This is a real step forward in personalised cancer care. We’re so pleased to have worked with SWAG cancer alliance to fill this gap in support for people who are often struggling from life-changing effects caused by cancer treatment.”

The partnership was initially a two-year project to establish a network of support services at four radiotherapy centres in the areas that made up the SWAG Cancer Alliance – the Beacon Centre in Taunton (run by our trust), Royal United Hospital in Bath, Cheltenham General Hospital, and Bristol Haematology and Oncology Centre. The Somerset team also provides mentorship and has supported the development of services at hospitals in Exeter, Torbay and Truro.

It’s the first project of this kind in the UK, where all the NHS trusts in a cancer alliance have worked with Macmillan to give patients across a region the same equity of care across SWAG Cancer Alliance.

Jo Penman, our head of radiotherapy, says: “The award-winning south west team has effectively put radiotherapy late effects on the map of best practice for the country and internationally and have identified the region as the blueprint for regional, collaborative working.

“The evaluation report provides compelling evidence on the effectiveness, efficiency, and experience of the south west radiotherapy late effect service to support commissioning intentions and inform individual trust business planning for the long-term sustainable commissioning of radiotherapy late effects services.

“The teams should be immensely proud of what they have achieved for our patients in such a short period of time.”

You can read the full evaluation report here.