ST HELENS and Whiston Hospitals have each scooped a national award for their commitment to patients living with incurable blood cancer.
The hospitals’ haematology team has been presented with the Myeloma UK Clinical Service Excellence Programme (CSEP) Award in recognition of its outstanding care and dedication to patients with myeloma, an incurable blood cancer which claims the lives of 3,000 people in the UK each year.
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The accolade, awarded by blood cancer charity Myeloma UK, recognises hospitals’ commitment to raising the bar for treatment and providing compassionate care.
Staff were praised for their efforts to improve patients’ quality of life and to listen to their needs.
Nicola Goffinet, Haematology Clinical Nurse Specialist at both St Helens and Whiston Hospitals, said: “We are delighted to receive the Myeloma UK CSEP Accreditation. It highlights how dedicated all staff are to providing an excellent service for our patients with myeloma.
“I am so proud of not just the haematology team, but the support from wider services of the Trust such as cancer services, phlebotomy and pathology, that help us to provide such a great service for people with myeloma.”
Rob Cooper, Managing Director at the Trust, added: “I am so proud of the team.
“They truly go the extra mile to build trust with patients, understand their needs and take their feedback on board and that outstanding care is reflected in being awarded the CSEP award.”
Myeloma is especially hard to spot as the symptoms are often vague and dismissed as ageing or other minor conditions.
By the time many patients are diagnosed their cancer has often advanced and they require urgent treatment. This can significantly impact their chances of survival and quality of life.
Rhys Owens, Clinical Practice Services Senior Projects Officer at blood cancer charity Myeloma UK, said: “Staff at the St Helens and Whiston Hospitals truly go the extra mile to make sure myeloma patients get the care they need.
“Myeloma is a challenging cancer which can be really difficult to cope with both physically and mentally, so the hospitals work closely with a range of local services to give patients access to counselling and complementary therapies, including reiki and aromatherapy, and help them through the rollercoaster of cancer treatment.
“Staff also witness every day the financial toll being diagnosed with an incurable cancer takes on patients, many of whom aren’t able to work during and after treatment. So they encourage them to open up by their struggles and signpost them to support services accordingly. This not only eases patients’ burden but allows them to concentrate on what matters most - their treatment and recovery.”
Myeloma occurs in the bone marrow and currently affects over 24,000 people in the UK.
It is a relapsing-remitting cancer, meaning that although many patients will experience periods of remission following treatment, the disease will inevitably return. More than half of patients face a wait of over five months to receive the right diagnosis and around a third are diagnosed through A&E.
While it is incurable, myeloma is treatable in the majority of cases. Treatment is aimed at controlling the disease, relieving the complications and symptoms it causes, and extending and improving patients’ quality of life.
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