Cancer Alliance shortlisted for prestigious healthcare award
The Cheshire and Merseyside Cancer Alliance is in the running for a national award for its work with communities to promote awareness of cancer and the benefits of screening.
Its Community Partnerships team has been collaborating with Community and Voluntary Service (CVS) organisations across Cheshire and Merseyside to support grassroots groups in giving vital health information and the initiative has now been shortlisted for a HSJ Patient Safety Award.
The project will go forward to final judging in the Health Service Journal’s Best Use of Integrated Care and Partnership Working in Patient Safety category ahead of a national awards ceremony in September.
Over the 18 months that the initiative has been running, 12,000 individual conversations have taken place with people through many different community organisations.
The Cancer Alliance initially funded community groups to do this by giving small grants but then created Social Action Lead roles in each CVS organisation to work two days a week on pushing out cancer awareness information to community groups in their area.
The project has played a crucial role in advancing the NHS Long Term Plan's goal of diagnosing three-quarters of all cancer cases at stages one and two by 2028. Insights gained from the pilot have led to an investment of over £600,000 over the past two years, empowering VCFSE service providers to deliver effective engagement at a hyperlocal level and further contribute to meeting NHS system outcomes.
The outcome of the Community Partnership project has contributed to Cheshire and Merseyside Cancer Alliance (CMCA) being ranked joint top in most improved rates of early diagnosis in England over the past year.
The Cancer Alliance’s Managing Director Jon Hayes said the project helped communities to understand the importance of coming forward early with possible symptoms of cancer, which is vital in treatment being easier and more successful. He added that CVS organisations helped to pass this information to a wider range of community groups and individuals.
Jon said: “We are delighted that our Community Partnership initiative has been highlighted in this award shortlist and we thank all the CVS organisations and groups which have been involved in it. It is a very important project bringing vital cancer information to people who need it most.
“Knowledge is power in having the confidence to come forward early with potential signs of cancer to be checked out. Having this knowledge given to you by a friend or trusted community member has much greater impact than if it is delivered by an external public sector organisation so, over time, more and more people will have a heightened awareness of cancer.”
The CVS organisations which have partnered in the scheme are: One Knowsley, Warrington CVS, Cheshire West Voluntary Action, CVS Cheshire East, Halton and St Helens Voluntary Community Action, One Knowsley, Liverpool Charity and Voluntary Services, Sefton Council for Voluntary Services and One Wirral CIC.