Published on 1 May 2026
Joan Spencer has been appointed as permanent Senior Responsible Officer at Cheshire and Merseyside Cancer Alliance (CMCA) and permanent Chief Executive at The Clatterbridge Cancer Centre NHS Foundation Trust (CCC).
Joan joined The Clatterbridge Cancer Centre in 2014, became an Executive Director in 2019 and has been Interim Chief Executive at CCC and Senior Responsible Officer at CMCA since March 2025. She has now been appointed to both roles on a substantive basis following a national recruitment process.
Merseyside born and bred, Joan started her career as a ward nurse and has carried the same values and commitment to doing the right thing for patients ever since. She specialised in cancer nursing before moving into management.
Joan was instrumental in developing The Clatterbridge Cancer Centre’s networked model of care with treatment sites across Cheshire and Merseyside, which means patients can access highly specialised cancer care closer to home. She led the operational planning for the new specialist 11-storey Clatterbridge Cancer Centre in Liverpool.
More recently, she has played a pivotal role in system working and establishing partnerships to strengthen cancer pathways across Cheshire and Merseyside, including through her role with the Cancer Alliance. This includes the sub-region’s award-winning work on developing specialist urgent and emergency cancer care, which has received national acclaim. It is the first programme in the UK focused on this overlooked area of patient care.
Jon Hayes, Managing Director of CMCA, said: “We are delighted that Joan will continue her key role at the Cancer Alliance. She has brought enormous experience and commitment to our organisation.
“Joan is incredibly knowledgeable about the cancer landscape across the region and nationally, which supports the work we are doing to improve cancer services, care and outcomes in our population.”