Excellent Practices

Patient Involvement and Support

Practice Category: Patient Involvement and Empowerment

Centre: The Christie NHS Foundation Trust

David Wright

Associate Chief Nurse for Quality and Patient Experience

d.wright26@nhs.net

Challenge addressed by the practice

The Christie Hospital is a comprehensive cancer centre that provides services to patients across a regional, national, and international footprint. The Trust recognises that the variety and complexity of specialist cancer services covered by the organisation have the potential to make it difficult for patients to be as involved in their care and the services that support them as they would like to be. The challenge is how to overcome this in ways that are holistic and reflective of the diversity of patients attending for treatment and support. There is also an understanding from the highest levels of the organisation that to achieve optimum patient involvement requires time, support, and a commitment to engage and involve them in decision-making and governance processes.

Solution

The Christie Hospital has committed resource over many years to support the development and growth of patient involvement and support. The aim is to deliver a holistic support package to patients across the trajectory of their treatment pathway. This is reflected in the following:

  • A comprehensive suite of patient information that combines locally developed material appropriate to specialist treatments alongside material from national cancer organisations
  • A holistic therapies team that supports patients across the trajectory of their treatment
  • Development of the Supportive Oncology directorate and service to reflect the changing nature of cancer therapies and survivorship
  • Collaborative work with cancer charities to support the delivery of pre- and post-treatment information support sessions
  • A Christie members’ monthly meeting
  • A well established Young People’s forum that supports the development of TYA services
  • Patients embedded within the governance structure of the Trust
  • Research focused PPI engagement groups

Impact

Examples of the impact of the work that has been done to enhance support and involvement include:

  • Improved signage that supports those who have a dementia diagnosis and need to attend the Trust.
  • Development of a comprehensive network of services that support care closer to home; these include chemotherapy, radiotherapy, and blood sampling.
  • Year-on-year positivity from the Trust’s national survey results and regularly high Friends and Family scores.
  • Specific clinics developed to support the supportive oncology team, allowing rapid access for patients living with the effects of treatment.
  • Delivery of Spotlight events with clinical and research teams.
  • Patient and carer feedback incorporated into the Trust accreditation processes.
  • Involvement in the development of satellite sites.

Critical success factors

The success of the Trust is based on several key factors:

  • A strong sense of the need to embed patient experience at the heart of the Quality Agenda, ensuring that care and treatment are holistic.
  • Strong support from the highest levels of the organisation in recognising the value of patient involvement and the opportunities available for further development.
  • An embedded desire to work with key partners such as charities, academic institutions, and research organisations to function as a comprehensive cancer centre.
  • A culture that has allowed a passionate and dedicated workforce to trial new ways of working so as to find new and optimum ways of supporting and involving patients.
  • A visibility of senior leadership through executive and governor walk rounds.

Next steps

  • Updated quality plan 2026–2028 with patient and carer involvement at its heart.
  • Launch of the Patient and Carer Engagement Forum
  • Further development of the processes and access to patient information
  • Embedding the newly created role of Patient Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Lead.
  • Continued work to increase feedback that is representative of the ethnicity of the patient population attending the Trust.
  • Support for the continued development of the patient portal to further empower patients treated by the Trust.