Eight brand new specialist cancer care posts have been created at South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust thanks to new funding from Macmillan Cancer Support.
More than £824,000 is being invested to ensure patients are provided with the most advanced and specialised cancer care.
Six new permanent roles and two pilot positions are being created to work across The James Cook University Hospital and the Friarage Hospital in Northallerton. They include:
- Two lung cancer specialist nurses
- Cancer care coordinator – upper gastrointestinal
- Cancer care coordinator – urology
- Urology specialist nurse
- Secondary breast cancer specialist nurse
- Cancer care coordinator – malignancy of unknown origin
- Specialist nurse – malignancy of unknown origin
Pauline Sturdy, Trust Cancer Transformation Lead Nurse, said: “The impact that this is going to make for patients and the boost that it gives staff is massive.”
“These exciting new roles will allow our teams to continue to develop new ideas, services and opportunities to ensure that patients and their friends or families have the best experience they can possible have.”
Despite the unprecedented challenges and complications the Covid-19 pandemic presented, cancer treatment has remained an “absolute priority”, with these new posts designed to make sure patients continue to receive the care and support they deserve and need.
Kieran Conaty, Partnership Manager for Durham, Darlington and Teesside for Macmillan Cancer Support said: “We are delighted to continue our partnership with South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, developing services together to improve outcomes for people living with cancer.
“These are much needed posts that will help the trust deliver true personalised care for their patients and will have an immediate and positive impact on people affected by cancer in the region.”
As well as these new positions, the Trust will also pilot a new internship programme which will offer specialist cancer training to nurses already working in the sector.
The programme has been made possible thanks to a £50,000 grant from Health Education England – it is hoped that some of the successful candidates will aspire to become specialist cancer nurses of the future.
More information about all the new roles is available here.
