Project Name: Novartis Re-imagining Care Pathways Collaborative Working Project (“NRCP CWP”) for the Neuroendocrine Tumours Service in Newcastle
Project Summary:
The Reimagining Care Pathways CWP comprises a series of workshops, with the aim of providing pathway mapping support to the CW Partner (healthcare and service teams) to:
- Identify potential service inefficiencies and service bottlenecks. Optimisation of these areas by the CWP will lead to improved patient care.
- Address the local challenges in the delivery of patient care.
The programme facilitates area teams (Trust or ICS) to identify areas for optimisation within their Neuroendocrine Tumour service. The programme will be carried out in a number of different institutions.
Expected Benefits:
Anticipated Benefits for Patients:
- Improvement of clinical pathways which may result in potentially fewer visits and shorter waiting times due to a more efficient clinical pathway
- Faster and more equitable access to the complete range of NICE approved treatment options.
- Quality care improvements aligned to established best practices.
Anticipated Benefits for the Organisation(s):
- Improved understanding of the current service pathway, and associated efficiencies and inefficiencies. Potential to lead to solutions which could allow the CW Partner’s organisation to enhance both patient experience and outcomes.
Anticipated Benefits for Novartis:
- Understanding of possible opportunities to partner with the CW Partner to enhance patient outcomes and experience. Better understanding of patients,’ carers and customers’ needs, which may inform future service offerings, and synergies between needs of the customer and value of Novartis offerings.
Start Date & Duration: September 2025, 16 weeks
FA-11523760 | October 2025
Project Name: Novartis Re‑imagining Care Pathways Collaborative Working Project – Newcastle Neuroendocrine Tumours Service (NETs)
Organisation(s): Newcastle Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (“CW Partner”)
Completion Date: February 2026
Outcome Summary:
This collaborative working project supported Newcastle Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust to map the current pathway and to identify potential service inefficiencies and bottle necks. The outputs provide a validated pathway map and a set of prioritised, locally agreed considerations to support pathway resilience, clarity and future service planning.
Key Project Outcomes Data:
- Captured end‑to‑end insight into the service pathway and Comprehensive mapping, documenting the flow of activity, handoffs, and dependencies across MDT, oncology and nuclear medicine
- Identification of key pinch points, inefficiencies, and risks within the service, including workforce fragility, fragmented ownership, and capacity constraints impacting scalability
- Agreement of priority opportunities for service optimisation, validated collaboratively with MDT stakeholders during the workshop
- Production and presentation of a consolidated Pathway Map and Final Report, summarising findings, risks, and agreed improvement opportunities
- Provision of an evidence base to support internal Trust decision‑making and business case development for staffing, digital enablement, and future service expansion
Outcomes:
The Re‑imagining Care Pathways collaborative working project was delivered between October 2025 and February 2026 and focused on the Newcastle Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust NETs service.
The project comprised of;
- Structured one‑to‑one stakeholder interviews followed by a facilitated multi‑disciplinary workshop, enabling the Trust to develop a single, agreed view of treatment pathway and its operational dependencies.
- Ten 1:1 stakeholder interviews completed across clinical, technical and administrative roles
- One multi‑disciplinary pathway mapping workshop delivered
- One validated end‑to‑end NETs service pathway map produced
- Three cross‑cutting service themes identified, with associated short‑, medium‑ and longer‑term considerations
Outcomes for the NHS / CW Partner: The project enabled the Trust to identify and validate three key service‑level themes affecting the current pathway: (1) reliance on a small number of individuals for pathway coordination and delivery, creating operational fragility; (2) fragmented ownership and communication at key transition points, particularly around MDT decision‑making and post‑treatment follow‑up; and (3) capacity and administrative constraints limiting scalability, including space, imaging availability and reliance on manual, non‑integrated systems. The validated pathway map and final report provide a structured evidence base to support internal prioritisation, workforce planning discussions and the development of future business cases, with ownership retained by the Trust.
Outcomes for patients: Improvement of clinical pathways which may result in potentially fewer visits and shorter waiting times due to a more efficient clinical pathway. Faster and more equitable access to the complete range of NICE approved treatment options.
Quality care improvements aligned to established best practices. While no patient‑level data was collected, stakeholders identified opportunities to improve the consistency, transparency and predictability of the patient experience through clearer pathway ownership, standardised MDT inputs and more defined post‑treatment communication and follow‑up processes. These considerations are intended to support improved patient understanding of next steps within the pathway.
Outcomes for Novartis: The project enabled Novartis to support the CW Partner through the provision of structured pathway mapping methodology, facilitation and service design expertise. Insights generated through the project contribute to Novartis’ understanding of operational challenges and service maturity within treatment pathways and may inform the design of future, non‑promotional service support aligned to NHS priorities.
Conclusion:
The Novartis Re-Imagining Care Pathway for NETs project successfully delivered a validated pathway map and a set of prioritised, service‑led considerations focused on resilience, pathway clarity and future readiness. The outputs are owned by Newcastle Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and are intended to support local decision‑making, service development and longer‑term planning for treatment delivery.
FA-11641756-1 | April 2026