Publish date: 27 March 2024
A leading clinician who has spent most of his career working to improve cancer services, treatment and care in Merseyside and Cheshire is stepping back from the role.
NHS respiratory consultant Dr Chris Warburton is retiring as Medical Director and Deputy Senior Responsible Officer of Cheshire and Merseyside Cancer Alliance after being in post since the organisation launched in 2016. Before that he had a similar role with previous organisations that helped to improve the delivery of cancer services in the region.
He is being replaced by Mr John McCabe, Consultant Urological Surgeon at Mersey and West Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, where he is also Divisional Medical Director for Surgery in addition to his role the Lead Cancer Clinician for the Trust.
Mr McCabe has been a lead nationally in helping to transform the prostate cancer diagnostic pathway and is recognised for his research work on urological cancer surgery outcomes. He has a strong background in education, having been a national innovator in urological simulated surgical training and more recently in the development of a national urology specialist nurse training hub at his trust, in collaboration with Edge Hill University.
Dr Warburton will continue in his post as a part-time consultant at Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust providing care for patients with suspected lung cancer, where he has worked since 1996. He will also still have clinical oversight of Cheshire and Merseyside’s Targeted Lung Health Check programme, which he was instrumental in establishing several years ago.
Dr Warburton said: “The management of cancer is complex, and this is reflected in the complexity of the cancer programme of the Cancer Alliance. The scope of this spans the whole cancer journey from screening of asymptomatic populations, through earlier detection of symptoms, ensuring timely and appropriate investigations, timely and appropriate treatments, management of those cured, management of cancer recurrences and supportive care. It spans all types of cancer and covers aspects of cancer prevention.
“It has been my privilege to serve as the Medical Director of the Cancer Alliance for the last eight years or so. The work required has been extremely varied, the National Cancer Programme has dedicated funding, allowing us to deliver significant improvements in the experience of services and in cancer outcomes for our population. This has been highly rewarding.”
Welcoming Mr McCabe to the Alliance, Dr Warburton said: “There has never been a more exciting time to be involved in cancer services. Innovations around detection and treatment of cancers are developing very quickly, and it is likely that this will translate into national programmes which will need to be developed and delivered in Cheshire and Merseyside in the near future. Early detection at Stage 1 or 2 in our region is at its highest ever level, demonstrating that the programmes we have already implemented are bearing fruit, and our improvement in this metric is better than other parts of the country.
“I am proud that our cancer services in Cheshire and Merseyside have already delivered this important improvement – but there is much more to do. It is time for a fresh set of eyes to take on the Medical Director role and to help deliver further improvements in cancer for our population.”
Jon Hayes, Managing Director of Cheshire and Merseyside Cancer Alliance, said: “I would like to thank Chris for his tremendous work in helping to improve cancer treatment and care for the population of Cheshire and Merseyside. He has helped us to shape and grow the Cancer Alliance and has provided an extremely valuable medical perspective on everything we do.
“His expertise in lung cancer has been instrumental in our region being at the forefront of tackling this disease through projects which lead the way nationally, especially the Targeted Lung Health Check programme. We are delighted that Chris will continue to lead our rollout of these vital checks to all parts of Cheshire and Merseyside.
“I would also like to welcome John McCabe. John has considerable experience in shaping cancer services and will be a great addition to our leadership team. He has a wealth of leadership experience and has worked with the Alliance on projects for several years.
“It is an exciting time to work at the Cancer Alliance, with so many programmes and projects underway which face the challenge of growing rates of cancer as our population ages, and I know John will be invaluable in progressing our commitment to improving cancer services, treatment and care.”
Mr McCabe, who will also become the Cancer Alliance’s Deputy Senior Responsible Officer, said: “I am delighted to be joining Cheshire and Merseyside Cancer Alliance. It is one of the best organisations of its type in the country and while the incidence of cancer in our region is worryingly high, I will be working with the Alliance to ensure we drive improvements in clinical outcomes and patients’ experience of the cancer care and treatment they receive.”