On Friday 4th October, Dartford and Gravesham NHS Trust welcomed our first patients to their new Macmillan Systemic Anti-Cancer Therapy (SACT) Outreach clinic at Queen Mary’s Hospital (QMH) in Sidcup, which was made possible with funding from Macmillan Cancer Support.
As the population around Darent Valley Hospital (DVH) continues to grow and patients are living longer with cancer due to earlier diagnosis and greater access to newer and more innovative cancer treatments, the chemotherapy Day Unit - Pine Therapy Unit at Darent Valley Hospital needed to maintain the demand for patients accessing cancer treatment. The Trust acknowledged it needed to transform its hospital based cancer service. Newer cancer treatments with fewer and more predictable side effects, which are available as oral, or subcutaneous injections meant that these could be delivered away from the Trust’s chemotherapy day unit.
In 2023, Dartford and Gravesham NHS Trust was successful in their bid from Macmillan Cancer Support to develop a new Outreach service to continue to provide high quality cancer treatment. The objective of the new service needed to support the NHS long-term plan focusing on patient centred approach for delivering care closer to home in local communities
We listened to our patients who were receiving treatment on how they wanted the new service to look like – we had a clear remit which was to design a service which was “accessible and closer to home” and “provided the same high quality service they are used to on Pine Therapy Unit”
Our project team used this feedback to set up our first site at Queen Mary’s Hospital in Sidcup which will be used to treat some of our chemotherapy patients who live in the Sidcup, Bromley and Bexley area.
We have already received positive feedback from patients accessing the service – commenting on the ease of travel to the new site. Brian, one of our first patients accessing the service, said the new service meant that his wife, who is unwell, did not have to accompany him to his appointment. The more accessible location meant he could drive himself, giving him back his independence.
Kate Regan from Macmillan Cancer support said, “Macmillan warmly welcomes the launch of the new SACT outreach service at Queen Mary’s Hospital, which will significantly enhance local access to cancer treatment. This initiative highlights the collaborative efforts between Dartford and Gravesham NHS Trust and Macmillan, demonstrating a strong commitment to improving patient care in our community. It was a pleasure to spend the morning with this inspiring and dedicated team of Macmillan professionals and to meet the first patients to benefit from the service.”
Meena Midda, the Macmillan Project Manager said, “I wanted to congratulate everyone for the launch of our Macmillan SACT Outreach service at Queen Mary’s Hospital. This is a great development for Cancer Services at Dartford and Gravesham NHS Trust, the new service has been made possible by Macmillan Cancer Support and the generous donations. Thank you to all the teams who have worked behind the scenes to make this happen including: Estates, Clinical Coding, Pharmacy, Procurement, Business Intelligence & Finance” I also would like to thank all the staff at QMH for being so accommodating and helpful throughout this project. It has taken a lot of work from everyone to make this happen and was so nice to see everything come together today.”
Marie Payne Interim MCEC Divisional Director of Nursing and Macmillan Lead Cancer nurse said “Amazing – Thank you all! I’m so pleased this has been an aspiration of mine for a few years and to see this come to fruition brings a tear to my eye! This will enable us to meet the growing demand for cancer treatment and ensure all our patients receive their treatment in an accessible location in a timely manner”
This is our first site and we continue to work to develop a second site in the Gravesend area so we can continue to serve and deliver high quality cancer treatments to our local population closer to their homes.