Agenda item

To consider a report from NHS England on the proposed redesign of specialised cancer services in Greater Manchester and East Cheshire

Dr Alison Rylands, Deputy Medical Director at NHS England Cheshire Warrington and Wirral Area Team, presented NHS England’s proposed redesign of specialised cancer services within Greater Manchester and East Cheshire. The proposal made the following points:

·         Specialised services needed to be considered on a large regional basis rather than locally, there were currently too many providers conducting very few procedures each year with too much variation in quality of outcomes.

·         Resources such as equipment and expertise needed to be centralised in specialist regional hubs to ensure they were used effectively on a consistent basis. This would be more efficient and provide better outcomes for patients.

·         Changes to services were limited to specialist surgeries and parts of the process such as diagnosis, chemotherapy and radiotherapy, and follow up and care would continue as they currently were.

·         To be successful the proposals would require close links between regional specialist centres and local hospitals and GPs to ensure a seamless service from beginning to end for patients.

·         As many of the current providers had expressed an interest in becoming the specialised cancer service provider for the region NHS England was conducting a procurement process. NHS England would only commission services from providers who were able to meet all the required standards.

Members asked questions and the following points arose:

·         Members supported the principle of improving outcomes for patients by consolidating resources and expertise in specialised centres.

·         Members were concerned about the effect centralisation would have on patients travelling long distances to receive treatment, particularly elderly patients. It was suggested that the specialist surgery would usually be a one off part of the whole treatment process so would not have a sustained impact on the patient and the majority of their treatment would be carried out locally; however the Committee requested assurance that effective strategies regarding the transport of patients and easy access to specialist centres would be part of the procurement process.

·         The Committee was given assurance that centralisation would not impact on waiting times. NHS England would commission services to ensure waiting time targets could be met.

·         It was suggested that the process for considering changes to specialist cancer services had already been going for a protracted period, prior to NHS England being established, and would be having an impact on the motivation and morale of those staff that would be affected by changes. The Committee wanted assurance that whatever changes were put in place would be completed quickly and with the engagement of staff to avoid adverse impacts on staff and therefore services.

·         The Committee was concerned that South Cheshire CCG appeared to have been overlooked during the consultation process. Although the most impact would be felt in the North of the Borough, many patients from the South Cheshire CCG area would be affected and the CCG should be a consultee on the proposals. The Committee received assurances from Dr Rylands that South Cheshire CCG would be involved in future.

RESOLVED:

(a)  That the briefing report on proposals to improve specialised cancer services be noted.

(b)  That the Committee’s comments on the proposals be submitted to the NHS England Cheshire Warrington and Wirral Area Team for consideration.