Cancer team wins Macmillan Excellence Award | Our news

The Urology Team has been announced as the winners of the ‘Quality Improvement Excellence Award’ at this year’s Macmillan Professionals Excellence Awards.  The award recognises teams who have made significant improvements within an existing service offered to people living with cancer. Participants are nominated by their colleagues.

Awards host, actor Larry Lamb, presented the team with the prestigious award at the event which took place at the Hilton Birmingham Metropole on Thursday 7th November 2019.

Macmillan nurse Alex Smith, who collected the award, said:

"All the Urology team are ecstatic to win and it feels so nice to be recognised by our patients and peers for all the hard work we have been doing over a long period of time.  We had a lovely time celebrating and really enjoyed networking with other fantastic individuals and hearing about all the other amazing work that is going on throughout the country."

Paula Allchorne, Lead Urology CNS at Barts, who nominated the team added:

"Our whole team has been built in response to meeting patient needs. We have a real mix of skills and are passionate about workforce development, recognising that each person plays an equally important part in improving patient experience."

Jade Fairfax, Macmillan Partnership Quality Lead for North-East London said:

"Last year Macmillan celebrated 25 years of working in partnership with Barts Health NHS Trust and I am delighted that the Urology team from the Trust has been honoured in this way for their continued hard work improving services for people living with cancer in North-East London.

"As a charity, we are only able to do this thanks to the generous support of the public as we are almost wholly reliant on public donations to be there for the growing number of people with cancer who need us."

The annual awards, which are now in their eighth year are an opportunity for Macmillan to recognise and thank pioneering teams and individuals who deliver the highest standards of care for people living with cancer.

The urology team won the award for implementing a new model of working that combined nursing services split across four hospital sites for urological cancer patients. The team consulted with patients and asked them what they wanted meaning that all the big changes made to the service were totally patient-centred.

These improvements have been so novel and effective that Macmillan Nurse, Alexandra Smith, was asked to present the work at a pan-European scientific meeting. The team have also been invited to run workshops in New Zealand, Dubai and Saudi Arabia to share best practice.

The ceremony was attended by over 400 health and social care professionals and guests.

For support, information or if you have any questions, call Macmillan Cancer Support free on 0808 808 00 00 (7 days a week, 8am to 8pm) or visit macmillan.org.uk.

Photo caption: (L to R) Urology team members: James Green, Jean Ventura, Kin Abi, Alex Smith, Sally Buttleman, Paula Allchorne and Karen Walsh)