Project Name: Collaborative Working York Hospital Breast Cancer Service Redesign
Project Summary:
This Collaborative Working Project (“CWP”) aims to optimise workforce capacity within the York and Scarborough Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust breast cancer (“BC”) oncology service with the creation of new dedicated workforce roles to include one breast cancer care coordinator and one breast cancer nurse specialist band 7 for a period of 12 months.
The intention is to maximise efficiency of clinical appointments that will improve the pathway for patients providing a more efficient and coordinated approach to care.
The new roles will support the breast oncology multidisciplinary team and coordinate the pathway for patients with primary and secondary breast cancer.
Planned Milestones:
CW Partner and Novartis: Kick-off meeting.
2. CW Partner: Collection of baseline data, in line with the Project Outcome Measures & Data Collection table including patient experience. Setting up the clinic codes and physical clinic space.
3. CW Partner: Confirmation of recruitment of band 7 nurse and CCC.
4. CW Partner: Confirmation of clinical and operational pathway, policy and protocol creation, and readiness to begin the clinical activity (CW Partner shall ensure that the clinical staff covered by the Novartis Financial Contribution are in place, trained and ready to begin clinical activity).
CW Partner: Collection & submission of 3 months clinical activity data.
5. CW Partner: Collection & submission of 6 months clinical activity data.
6. CW Partner: Development of business case.
7. CW Partner: Submission of business case by the CW Partner team to relevant body within the NHS Board.
8. CW Partner: Collection & submission of 9 months clinical activity data.
9. CW Partner: Collection & submission of 12 months clinical activity data.
10. CW Partner: Submit final CWP report to Novartis within 2 months completion of the clinical work.
Expected Benefits:
ANTICIPATED BENEFITS FOR PATIENTS
- Increased access to equitable, consistent, and standardised care.
- Increased access to education on BC and treatments to improve adherence and consequently improve patients' outcomes, supported by a personalised care plan.
- Reduce patient waits in the clinic given extra capacity created by new workforce role.
- Reduce unplanned medical reviews and admissions.
ANTICIPATED BENEFITS FOR THE ORGANISATION(S)
- Increase the overall quality of care and improve equity of access to specialist care for patients with BC requiring treatment initiation, evaluation, and monitoring.
- Provision of subject matter expertise to educate other members of the clinical team on treatment options.
- Provide a single point of contact for patients, thereby reducing the potential for unplanned calls being received by the wider clinical team.
- Free up consultant capacity for clinical activities that are unique to their skillset.
- Reduce use of emergency triage line and unplanned admissions.
ANTICIPATED BENEFITS FOR NOVARTIS
- Better understanding of overall customers’ and patients’ needs;
- Optimal use of medicines (including Novartis medicines) in appropriate patients.
- Ethical, professional, and transparent relationship between Novartis and the Healthcare Organisations.
Start Date & Duration: December 2024 for 18 months
FA-11306859 | December 2024
Project Name: York Hospital Breast Cancer Service Redesign
Organisation(s): York and Scarborough Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust
Completion Date: July 2026
Outcome Summary:
This Collaborative Working Project was established to improve capacity, coordination and timeliness within the breast cancer service at York and Scarborough Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust through the introduction of one Band 7 Breast Cancer Nurse Specialist and one Band 4 Cancer Care Coordinator. The project aimed to enhance patient access to specialist support, increase clinic capacity, improve pathway coordination, support timely treatment initiation and generate evidence to inform future service sustainability.
Key Project Outcomes Data:
During the 12-month clinical activity period, the project supported 1,044 patients through the enhanced model of care and delivered 290 clinics, exceeding the planned target of 188 clinics. While the number of patients supported was lower than the anticipated 1,880.
The average time from MDT decision to first prescription reduced from 10.3 days at baseline to 8 days, representing a 22% improvement in treatment initiation timelines and demonstrating increased pathway efficiency.
Outcomes:
The project achieved the objective of improving the timeliness of treatment initiation for breast cancer patients. The average time from MDT decision to prescribe to first prescription decreased by 2.3 days, from 10.3 days to 8 days. This improvement reflects more effective pathway coordination, enhanced patient tracking and proactive management of treatment processes through the dedicated nursing and care coordination roles.
In addition, the project increased service capacity through the delivery of 290 clinics.
Conclusion:
Overall, the project demonstrated that dedicated Breast Cancer Nurse Specialist and Cancer Care Coordinator roles can have a positive impact on service delivery, pathway coordination and treatment timeliness.
Key learning from the project highlights the value of dedicated coordination and clinical support roles in streamlining complex cancer pathways, improving communication across multidisciplinary teams and facilitating timely patient access to treatment. The findings provide valuable evidence to support future workforce planning, service development, and the long-term sustainability of breast cancer services within the Trust.
FA-11791313 | September 2026