Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, Sajid Javid, has visited St Helens Hospital ahead of the launch of the government’s 10-year Cancer Plan.
The plan aims to catch cancer earlier and save more lives throughout the UK, and Mr Javid met with staff and patients to hear about the fantastic work being carried out by St Helens and Knowsley Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust as they continue to lead the way in vital cancer care.
Despite the disruption of the coronavirus pandemic, the Trust has continued to provide rapid access to cancer advice, services, and treatment whilst achieving all cancer treatment targets over the past two years.
At the start of the pandemic, the Trust set up a surgical cancer hub in St Helens Hospital to treat patients in a ‘covid-free’ environment. In response to national concerns around the 40% drop in cancer symptom referrals, the Trust also launched a unique cancer symptoms advice telephone line. This allowed people to speak directly to a specialist nurse to discuss their symptoms and receive advice on the next steps to take, including direct referral to the Trust’s specialist cancer teams and testing, if appropriate following assessment.
Mr Javid was hugely complimentary of the staff members he met at St Helens Hospital. He said: "I have been looking at some of the fantastic work being carried out by the cancer services team at St Helens Hospital. It's incredibly impressive and the staff here could not have done more.
"They have managed to keep meeting and treating patients at an incredible rate and are one of the best cancer services in the country. The last two years will have easily been the most challenging period for anyone in the NHS and what I have seen from the staff in St Helens today has been quite incredible."
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St Helens & Knowsley Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust