North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Foundation Trust has been praised for submitting the joint second-highest results in a national research project.
The national Coalesce study sees NHS trusts from around the country submit reports into the care offered to patients with pancreatic cancer.
The project is being run by the Birmingham Centre for Observational and Prospective Studies at the University of Birmingham.
The study aims to:
- Undertake an audit to establish current practice in pancreatic cancer in the UK
- Compare current practice against National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidelines
- Support clinical nurse specialists in being advocates for care
- Standardise care for pancreatic cancer patients
A devastating disease
Lead upper GI clinical nurse specialist, sister Natalie Robson, led the trust’s project to participate in the study.
She said: “Pancreatic cancer can be a devastating disease associated with poor life expectancy for patients and we work every day to change this”.
“I was really keen to get involved in this national collaborative audit. Sharing our working practices and learning from others is vitally important to help us make improvements for our patients.
“The project will help to assess and standardise care for pancreatic cancer patients and help support and establish clinical nurse specialists as being central to every step of our patients’ journeys.”
Patient confidentiality
Trusts around the country were asked to submit five patient records including key dates such as blood tests, multidisciplinary discussion, dietitian involvement and prescriptions including Creon, an important drug for pancreatic cancer which reduces weight loss. All records are anonymised to protect patient confidentiality.
Going above and beyond the request, Natalie and clinical effectiveness coordinator Lisa Watts went beyond this ask and submitted 13 records to the study.
Commitment
Commenting on tying in second place with King’s College Hospital, just behind Warwick Hospital which submitted 14, Natalie said: “The research project managers recently made a point of praising our commitment to the project which was really nice to hear.
“We were more than happy to share more data for the project. We’ll support any project that improves patient care.”
Trust lead clinician for Upper GI and HPB cancers, Professor Vikramjit Mitra said: “Taking part in this project has been a lot of work for Natalie and I’m really impressed with her commitment and the care she has taken when submitting the data”.
“People often think clinical research is restricted to doctors and consultants. Nurses play an important part in assessing and developing patient care. Hence, their contribution to research is very important to shape future patient care”.
“Natalie and her nursing colleagues are experts in their field and their work for this project will help patients across the country for many years to come.”
North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Foundation Trust will continue to submit data to the Coalesce research project which will run until September 2025 when the project will close.