14 November 2019
UKONS were proud and delighted to attend the glittering and prestigious Nursing Times Awards at the Grosvenor House Hotel on Park Lane in London on Wednesday 30 October. UKONS were shortlisted for the UKONS SACT Competency Passport that has been taken up across most of the UK. The passport ensures that patients will benefit from high quality care that is equally focused on safe drug delivery and supportive care. Nurses are now moving to other trusts with completed passports which is reducing the time required to assess them within their new place of work.
Amongst the other projects who made the shortlist for the Cancer Nursing Award, Michelle Davies from the Christie Hospital was put forward for both Cancer Nurse and Nurse of the Year for her work with education for Advanced Therapies within the iMATCH programme. The Immunotherapy Team at The Clatterbridge Cancer Centre NHS Foundation Trust were shortlisted after setting up a dedicated service to help manage the side effects of immunotherapy. Weston Park Cancer Support Centre in Sheffield made the shortlist for providing a unique, no-appointment-needed service with healthcare professionals, giving patients access to tailored support in the community. The Colorectal nursing team at Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust were added to the shortlist for developing a telephone triage system which has reduced waiting times for patients with suspected bowel cancer.
UKONS would like to especially congratulate the Macmillan Urology Service at the Wirral University Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust who won the Cancer Nursing Award for their cancer service improvement work. Their innovative approach includes a nurse led clinic for patients with suspected cancer and a new programme to empower patients to manage their health needs after a cancer diagnosis. Patients can also access their results electronically, saving trips to hospital for results. The judges said this innovative, person-centred improvement, which embraces digital technology, allowed people living with cancer to take control of their care and support, and enabled people to live life as fully as they can. There was a recognition by the nursing team that service improvement was needed, which was then implemented following user involvement.