The Somerset, Wiltshire, Avon & Gloucestershire Cancer Alliance is the forum to bring providers and commissioners together with patients, to co-design services to optimise pathways, ensure effective integration and address variation, and are the vehicle that leads the activity required at a local level to meet the 2023/24 ambitions set out by the Cancer Taskforce.
The Cancer Alliance puts clinical leaders across primary, secondary, and tertiary care in the driving seat for improving quality and outcomes across cancer pathways, based on shared data and metrics. Continuing to deliver the strategy and its programmes will require committed leadership, smart choices around investing to save, and a firm intent to try new approaches and test new models of care.
Our Priorities
Early Diagnosis
Early Diagnosis
Faster Diagnosis
Faster Diagnosis
High Quality Modern Services
High Quality Modern Services
Patient Experience
Patient Experience
Personalised Care
Personalised Care
Latest news
The Challenge Salisbury NHS Foundation Trust (SDHFT) faced several challenges in its urology cancer pathway. There weren’t enough local anaesthetic trans perineal (LATP) biopsy appointments, and delays in lab results (histopathology) were slowing down diagnoses. Staffing shortages and limited space in the Urology Centre added further pressure. These issues meant…
The Challenge Patients at Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (GHFT) were facing long waits between appointments and tests in the urology cancer pathway. Limited diagnostic capacity and staff shortages, especially among specialist nurses, were causing delays, stress, and frustration. GHFT needed to speed up the process, make better use of…
A new partnership has launched which aims to uncover inequalities and barriers to accessing cancer care and shape how services can be improved for the most vulnerable people in Somerset, Wiltshire, Avon and Gloucestershire. Breaking Barriers: Improving Access to Cancer Services – Including Screening is a joint project between Healthwatch…
Cancer remains one of the leading causes of death in the UK, with nearly 3.5 million people currently living with the disease. While progress has been made in early diagnosis, significant inequalities still exist, particularly for people living in low-income areas. Research shows that these people are 20% more likely…
It’s easy to dismiss swollen lymph nodes or fatigue as stress or a lingering cold but for thousands of people each year, these symptoms could be the first signs of lymphoma. This World Lymphoma Day, we spoke with Dr Sanne Lugthart, a Consultant Haematologist from University Hospitals Bristol and Weston…
The Challenge While cancer survival rates continue to improve, a significant proportion of patients experience long-term side effects from treatments following radiotherapy. These late effects – such as bowel and bladder issues, fatigue, and pain – pose a significant challenge for cancer survivors, often resulting in long-term physical and emotional…
The Challenge As cancer survival rates are improving, the NHS is exploring new innovative options of immunotherapy with the aim to reduce recurrence. NHS England has set a target to recruit 10,000 patients with different types of cancer into studies of personalised cancer vaccines by 2030; this project went live in…
SWAG Cancer Alliance and Bristol Royal Hospital for Children are proud to announce a new partnership focused on improving care for children with cancer across the South West. The project will explore how more treatments, particularly chemotherapy, can be delivered on an outpatient or ambulatory basis, reducing the need for…
