Published on: 19 February 2019
People living with cancer in South Tyneside are being invited to attend a health and wellbeing event, aimed at helping them to enjoy the best quality of life following diagnosis and treatment.
The drop-in on Saturday 2nd March will be held in the Education Centre at South Tyneside District Hospital. It has been organised for patients and their families and carers by South Tyneside and City Hospitals Sunderland NHS Foundation Trusts’ Living With and Beyond Cancer Team, which is funded by The Northern Cancer Alliance.
Advice and support will be available on a range of topics and local services to empower people living with and beyond cancer to manage their condition and aid their recovery through positive lifestyle changes such as increasing physical activity, healthy eating and stopping smoking.
A similar event was held at Sunderland Royal Hospital earlier this month (February) and more will be arranged in South Tyneside and Sunderland in the coming months. The health and wellbeing events are part of a ‘recovery package’, which the Trusts are working in conjunction with NHS South Tyneside and NHS Sunderland Clinical Commissioning Groups to deliver.
It is intended that by 2020 every patient in South Tyneside and Sunderland who receives a cancer diagnosis will be offered the recovery package which, as well as giving patients and carers access to health and wellbeing events, includes:
- An holistic needs assessment and a care plan within 31 days of diagnosis
- A ‘treatment summary’ at the end of each treatment phase which is copied to their GP
- A Cancer Care Review in primary care within six months of diagnosis
South Tyneside and City Hospitals Sunderland NHS Foundation Trusts’ Living With and Beyond Cancer Team is dedicated to establishing the recovery package, which is part of the NHS’s Achieving World-Class Cancer Outcomes 2015-2020 strategy for England, in clinical practice in hospitals and primary care in South Tyneside and Sunderland.
Kelly Craggs, Cancer Improvement Manager with the team, said: “Cancer survival is at its highest ever level, thanks to advances in knowledge of how to treat and control it and the commitment of NHS staff to improving care. More than half of people receiving a cancer diagnosis will now live 10 years or more.
“Our task is to make sure that we don’t just help more people to live following a cancer diagnosis, but to live well for many years. The aim of the recovery package is to ensure that the individual needs of people going through cancer treatment and beyond are met by personalised support and services so they can lead happy, healthy and active lives.
“The health and wellbeing events provide an important opportunity to inform and educate patients about ongoing management of their health and also give them and their families information about local facilities and support.”
The Living With and Beyond Cancer health and wellbeing event will be held in the Education Centre at South Tyneside District Hospital on Saturday 2nd March. Cancer patients and their families and carers can drop in any time between 11am and 2pm. There is no need to register. The event is being supported by Macmillan Cancer Support and North East charity FACT (Fighting All Cancers Together).
