St Helen's and Knowsley Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust | North West

Acutely aware that any delays to cancer treatment could have severe adverse effects on outcomes for current and future patients, St Helens and Knowsley Teaching Hospitals Cancer Services Team established the Surgical Cancer Hub at St Helens Hospital, providing a rapid, co-ordinated response to the delivery of essential and urgent cancer surgery during the COVID-19 pandemic. Between May 2020 and July 2021, the Surgical Cancer Hub received close to 300 referrals for urgent cancer treatment throughout the first three waves of the pandemic, for patients from right across the northwest. These were patients where it was critical that they received timely intervention. Had the Hub not been in place, due the suspension of services across the country, there would have been catastrophic delays to their treatment. The Surgical Cancer Hub was then to develop into one of the first reporting Community Diagnostic Centres (CDCs) in the country, and since July 2021, St Helens CDC’s activity has reached over 12,500 across a range of diagnostic modalities.

Nominated by: Rt Hon Sir George Howarth MP, Conor McGinn MP, and Marie Rimmer MP