Western General’s Cancer Navigation Hub is one year old

The Cancer Navigation Hub, based in Edinburgh Cancer Centre at the Western General Hospital, recently celebrated one year of the service launching.

The team helps patients and healthcare professionals to navigate cancer pathways, ensuring enquiries are directed to the appropriate care team in a timely and efficient way.

The team is made up of Cancer Pathway Coordinators and acts as a single point of contact for patients who’ve received a cancer diagnosis. Coordinators are also trained to assist healthcare professionals and helps to alleviate the pressure on clinical teams.

Katie Seville, Assistant Service Manager in Cancer Performance, said: “In just one year we’ve seen the hub make such a difference to the ease with which patients and staff can access the information and support they need.

“The team is in high demand and we’re looking to further expand and grow the service into new areas, providing more personalised and holistic support for patients throughout their diagnosis and treatment.”

The Cancer Navigation Hub initially served five tumour groups – lung, melanoma, head and neck, gynaecology, and urology. In April 2023, the hub expanded to cover the neuroendocrine tumour group followed by breast in August 2023.

During the first five months of the service (October 2022 to February 2023) the team handled on average over 1,100 calls per month, 38% of which were administrative queries or issues that could be resolved by the Cancer Pathway Coordinators.

In the month after incorporating the breast service, the team handled just over 1,900 calls across all tumour groups, with 44% of all calls being dealt with by the coordinators.

Since January 2023, the Cancer Navigation Hub has also been proactively calling newly diagnosed patients to introduce the hub and direct patients to support services.

In June 2023, during the launch of the new Cancer Strategy, the team was among those to meet Michael Matheson, Cabinet Secretary for NHS Recovery, Health and Social Care.

Congratulations to the team for a brilliant first year.