Former national cancer director visits Cheshire and Merseyside
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Cheshire and Merseyside Health and Care Partnership welcomed former national cancer director Professor Sir Mike Richards on Wednesday 2 March to view the diagnostic and treatment facilities at two of the region’s hospitals.
The first National Cancer Director, Professor Richards held several roles at both NHS England and the Department of Health, most recently publishing a review of diagnostic services as part of NHS England’s Long Term Plan.
It was this review that recommended community diagnostic centres should be created across the country, providing patients with quick and easy access to diagnostic tests, such as blood tests, X-rays, ultrasound, CT scans, and endoscopy, in one place.
On Wednesday, Professor Richards was given a tour of St Helens and Knowsley Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust to see how eight months after it launched, their community diagnostic centre is improving the diagnostic process for patients, including cancer patients.
He had earlier visited The Clatterbridge Cancer Centre’s new flagship hospital in Liverpool, visiting the Radiology department, the Teenage & Young Adult Unit, and the Chemotherapy Suite to see for himself how the cutting-edge facilities are improving outcomes for patients with cancer in Cheshire and Merseyside.
Professor Sir Mike Richards, Clinical advisor on diagnostics for NHS England said: “I’ve had a fantastic day. I’ve seen all sorts of important innovation including for Colonoscopy, CT, MRI, and Urology that is improving pathways for patients. The emphasis for diagnostics now is to provide patients with a quick and efficient one-stop-shop service wherever possible and it is really impressive what is being done here in Cheshire and Merseyside.”
Dr. Liz Bishop, Chief Executive of The Clatterbridge Cancer Centre and SRO of the Cheshire and Merseyside Cancer Alliance said: “We are proud to welcome Sir Mike so he can see the collaborative approach we are taking here in Cheshire and Merseyside and the impact that CDCs and the new Clatterbridge Cancer Centre are having on improving outcomes for patients in our region.
“Diagnostics feature in 80% of all patient pathways and since their launch last year, community diagnostic centres (CDC) have quickly made a positive difference to the service we provide to patients across our region. In February alone, our four CDCs across Cheshire and Merseyside carried out over 600 tests each week, 45% of which were imaging tests such as X-rays, ultrasound, CT, or MRI scans.
“The ability to complete multiple tests at the same time means we can achieve a diagnosis sooner and ensure more patients get the treatment they need. Ultimately, we will save more lives because of these centres and the people who work in them.”
A multi-disciplinary team including nurses and radiographers operate each CDC with St Helens and Clatterbridge Diagnostics in Wirral – a partnership between The Clatterbridge Cancer Centre and Wirral University Teaching Hospital – being among the first to open last summer.
Ann Marr OBE, Chief Executive of St Helens and Knowsley Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust added: “We’ve enjoyed showing Sir Mike around our diagnostic facilities. We are now able to do a lot more one-stop-shop services so that people can visit once, go through all of the diagnostic tests they require and get a diagnosis at the end of the day. For those people who that isn’t possible for, we’re now able to link their appointments more effectively to ensure they also get a diagnosis much faster than they perhaps would have done in the past.”
Cheshire and Merseyside Health and Care Partnership have since launched centres at Victoria Infirmary in Northwich in October and Ellesmere Port in December 2021. A fifth centre is set to open at Liverpool Women’s Hospital NHS Foundation Trust in early March.
Over 26,000 tests have been carried out by the four CDCs across Cheshire and Merseyside since July 2021. The St Helens CDC alone has carried out over 13,000 checks, scans, and tests, the highest number in the whole of the Northwest.
Dr. David Levy, Medical Director for NHS England North West, said: “CDCs are already having a positive impact on the ability to get people tested across the North West, as well as aiding the NHS to get back on track with treatment backlogs caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.”
The Faster Diagnosis Standard aims to ensure that patients referred to secondary care with suspected cancer undergo all necessary diagnostic tests and receive confirmation of a ruling out or confirming a cancer diagnosis within 28 days. Community Diagnostic Centres will provide a source of valuable additional capacity for both existing cancer pathways and new services for patients with non-specific systems.