Priority update: cancer Katrina Wilson, Principal Advisor for Cancer at Eastern AHSN, provides an overview of how we are working across the region to improve cancer services S upporting cancer innovation has been a long-term priority for Eastern AHSN, underpinned by the NHS Long of cancers will be diagnosed at an early stage. The COVID-19 pandemic forced healthcare services to adapt how they delivered services as NHS providers acted quickly to minimise the impact on cancer treatment. However, as the pandemic took hold routine screening, investigative tests and some treatments were disrupted. At the same time, fear of catching COVID-19, wanting to support the NHS by reducing burden, and a hesitancy or inability to use online consultations caused fewer people to seek support from their GPs. to use the best tools As a result, Macmillan estimates that there are around 1 the UK. Fewer people also started treatment after a with the year before. Supporting a regional approach We have been working closely with our local integrated care systems (ICSs) and sustainability and transformation partnerships (STPs), the NHS England and Improvement cancer innovation team and the East of England Cancer Alliance to explore how we can make the best use of innovative cancer solutions to drive advances in treatment and improve patient outcomes. The agreed approach was to prioritise innovations that could speed up patient journeys, simplify access to results, and wherever possible deliver services without the need to attend hospital. We have successfully launched two cancer projects to evaluate innovations we think can help meet these challenges. Norfolk and Waveney Sustainability and Transformation Partnership (STP) to support the rollout of two cancer innovations in their local system: Skin Analytics Skin Analytics has developed an application (DERM) which, combined with a dermascopic attachment, uses an artificial intelligence (AI) to support clinicians in their assessment of benign, malignant and pre-malignant skin lesions. We are currently piloting this innovation in primary care to determine its real-world effectiveness in assessing risk and supporting dermatologists to initially review suspected cases remotely in order to advise on the best referral option. Find out more about Skin Analytics. h Norfolk and Waveney STP using the test to screen patients at high risk of developing lung cancer across Great EarlyCDT Lung test are able to be promptly triaged into a CT scan to Oncimmume. Robert Mayes, Senior Project Manager for Norfolk STP, Were so grateful for the vital support weve had from Eastern AHSN. Beyond the funding for my role and the delivery of these projects, the team has added so much value through helpful insight and constructive challenge arising from years of innovation expertise. Im so proud of what we have managed to deliver despite the coronavirus pandemic and we have Eastern AHSN, my colleagues across Norfolk and Waveney and the commitment of clinicians locally to thank for that. Cancer innovations under the spotlight In October, we partnered with Macmillan Cancer Support to help them identify possible solutions and partnerships for their Airglove is a warm-air system that gently heats up a patients lower arm to widen blood vessels (a process known as vasodilating) and make cannulation easier Airglove has helped out for healthcare professionals. With extended courses of treatment such as chemotherapy, repeated cannulation is sometimes have to move economic assessment of Airglove found that it saved an estimated 64 per patient per year through reduced wastage2 and Nurse at Addenbrookes Hospital, Cambridge nursing time and, most importantly, it improves the experience of vulnerable patients. Eastern AHSN supported the piloting of Airglove across 11 oncology departments in the region, all of whom adopted the innovation based on data from the pilots. Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust purchased eight Airglove units for use by services beyond oncology to increase its adoption across the trust. As a result of the Macmillan Cancer Support event, we are currently in discussion with another local NHS trust to pilot an adaptation of the innovation to improve circulation in lower limbs. Find out more about Airglove. C the Signs evidence to support GPs to identify patients at risk of cancer at the earliest stage of the disease. Eastern AHSN is funding a has brokered a pilot of C the Signs programme management support and will be funding an independent evaluation of the service. use the best tools we can to empower clinicians and support earlier diagnoses. We hope C the Signs Macmillan Cancer Support (2020). The forgotten C? The impact of Covid-19 on cancer care. .: Macmillan Cancer Support. 3. Available: https://www.macmillan.org. uk/_images/forgotten-c-impact-of-covid-19on-cancer-care_tcm9-359174.pdf Last accessed: 28/04/21 1 Green Cross Medico. (2017). Service Evaluation of the AirGlove Patient Warming Device. Available: http://www. greencrossmedico.com/wp-content/ uploads/2018/01/Patient-Evaluation-FinalReport-030118-1.pdf. Last accessed 28/04/21. 2 can help GPs in our region identify possible cases of cancer more easily and give patients the best possible chances of recovery. Find out more about C the Signs. NeutroCheck has been designed to enable patients with symptoms to test for neutropenic sepsis, a potentially life-threatening complication of chemotherapy, quickly and accurately at home using a NeutroCheck still being in development, weve had a lot of excitement from clinicians keen to trial it as detecting the early signs of neutropenic sepsis would enable patients to get to hospital as quickly as possible and get the treatment they need, as well as avoiding unnecessary hospitalisations for those who test negative. NeutroCheck Scales, K. (2005). Vascular access: a guide to peripheral venous cannulation. through the Medtech Accelerator, a joint venture between Eastern AHSN, Health Enterprise East and Royal College of Nursing, 19(49), pp.4852. public sector partners. The Macmillan team was so impressed with the innovation it was invited to 3 References Share this article present at a Macmillan conference in March and conversations are ongoing about how it can support NeutroCheck in the future. Find out more about NeutroCheck. Like to get involved? Do you have an idea that could improve cancer patient outcomes or support earlier diagnosis? Get involved