During the original pilot at the gynaecology department of Chelsea and Westminster NHS Foundation Trust, the tool was deployed across all types of cancer between August to December 2022. There are now 46 registered teams and 239 active users, with 52,118 patients processed through the tool since its implementation.
Urgent suspected cancer referrals increased from 2,343 in November 2022 to 2,480 in November 2024. During this time, the trust made significant progress in reducing diagnosis times, with the percentage of patients receiving a diagnosis within 28 days, rising from 71.5% in November 2022 to 84.7% in November 2024.
On November 4, 2024, a pilot was launched in the colorectal service at the Royal United Hospitals Bath NHS Foundation Trust, which has since expanded to include the upper gastrointestinal service. A third pilot site – University Hospitals of Derby and Burton NHS – is in the process of implementing the tool, with a further 10 NHS trusts set to join Cancer 360 from June.
Navigating patients through a suspected cancer diagnosis is usually time-consuming and labour-intensive, with staff manually gathering information from various clinical systems. Cancer 360 provides a digital cancer patient tracking list (PTL), which consolidates a range of patient information, previously scattered across different hospital systems, into 1 secure platform. This speeds up appointment scheduling, reduces clerical errors and allows staff to focus on care delivery.
The platform also provides real-time data dashboards, allowing healthcare professionals to deliver high-quality patient care in the most efficient way possible. Since the initial pilot, the technology has become more customisable. Staff can now filter by patient risk and cancer teams, ensuring that the highest-risk patients are prioritised and the sources of backlogs are identified.
Suraiya Abdi, Consultant Obstetrician and Gynaecologist at Chelsea and Westminster NHS Foundation Trust, said: “The implementation of Cancer 360 has enabled my team to monitor and safely carry our patients through their cancer pathway.
“The tool enables us to have in depth conversations at our weekly meetings regarding a patient’s next step, as well as allowing us to escalate queries directly to other teams for faster turnaround.
“The tool has reduced the amount of admin time spent by our cancer team therefore enabling them to focus on the patient journey. I have witnessed an improvement in performance, team spirit and most importantly patient experience.”