Publish date: 16 August 2021
Cheshire & Merseyside Cancer Alliance is putting the spotlight on the important role that support workers play in helping patients through their cancer journey.
The alliance’s latest in-depth blog looking at CMCA’s projects and services highlights Cancer Support Workers, also called Cancer Navigators, who help to guide patients through their experience of cancer, from diagnosis to aftercare.
In the blog, CMCA Workforce Transformation & Education Lead Sharon Rowe outlines the job of a Cancer Support Worker – how they provide seamless care and co-ordination of care between providers and patients, and their families – and how there is now a 120-strong team across Cheshire and Merseyside.
The blog details what attributes and skills are needed in the role, how CMCA supports them to do their job well and what other cancer alliances can learn from the successful rollout of the support worker programme in Cheshire and Merseyside.
Sharon says in her blog: “Every situation and every patient are, of course, very different but from pre to post diagnosis, all patients embark on an anxious and sometimes bewildering journey.
“At every stage, they meet various health professionals who may give information about investigations or treatments that may be difficult to understand.
“But at each turn in the road, the Cancer Support Worker/Cancer Navigator is there to help, providing crucial personalised care which can make a hugely positive impact on every patient’s experience of cancer.”
To read the blog, click see: https://cmcanceralliance.nhs.uk/blog/supporting-patients-throughout-their-cancer-journey-cheshire-and-merseyside