The NHS in the North West has welcomed the publication of the NHS Cancer Plan, saying it will present opportunities to expand on innovative work already happening across the region, such as the transformation of urgent and emergency care for cancer patients to reduce A&E attendances and hospitals admissions.

This World Cancer Day (4 February), the Department of Health and Social Care has published a bold and ambitious cancer plan for England which sets out how they will improve cancer diagnosis and treatment, tackle health inequalities and support people with live with and beyond cancer.

In the North West, The Clatterbridge Cancer Centre, Cheshire and Merseyside Cancer Alliance, emergency care network and community teams are already demonstrating how specialist cancer services can deliver on these national ambitions through a first of its kind approach to urgent and emergency cancer care.

Nationally, cancer patients are four times more likely than other patients to end up being admitted when they attend the emergency department, often with complex symptoms and health needs. In Cheshire and Merseyside alone, around 45,000 people with cancer attended emergency departments in 2025.

The Clatterbridge Cancer Centre’s 24/7 hotline service provides around-the-clock support for patients who are receiving or have recently completed anti-cancer treatment and need urgent clinical advice or care. A new approach means the hotline can now directly refer people to any suitable service including urgent community response, urgent treatment centres and same day emergency care. The service includes a senior clinical decision maker with expertise in handling patients with complex needs or side effects, reducing demand on the regions EDs. Since this new way of working, referrals of cancer patients to ED reduced by 15% and 50% of calls are now directed to alternative services outside of ED.

Another way this approach is improving urgent cancer care is a new virtual cancer ward as part of the Hospital at Home service for Cheshire West and Chester, which is supporting cancer patients to receive care at home, one of the key aims of the national cancer plan. The community team is supporting patients at home and an advanced nurse practitioner from The Clatterbridge Cancer Centre has been embedded with the team to provide specialist oncology support. Patients with possible spinal complications from cancer can also now have their initial assessments at home, instead of being sent straight to ED or The Clatterbridge Cancer Centre.

In addition, patients with serious cancer-related problems can now be referred to the same day emergency care service at Whiston Hospital where experts in acute medicine assess and treat patients, with input from cancer specialists if needed.

These urgent cancer care pathways have seen more than 1,600 cancer patients so far redirected to same day emergency care and urgent community response services, in addition to patients referred to services such as Hospital at Home, primary care and community teams.

Dr Michael Gregory, Regional Medical Director for NHS England in the North West, said: “The NHS in the North West is already leading the way in delivering world-class and person-centred cancer care and we welcome the National Cancer Plan which sets our clear ambitions for our NHS teams to strive towards.

“Some of our communities face significant health challenges and we recognise there is more to do. The plan will enable to us to tackle health inequalities and ensure that every cancer patient receives the outstanding care they deserve.

The award-winning work by The Clatterbridge Cancer Centre to improve urgent and emergency care for cancer patients is a fantastic example of NHS teams working together to improve the lives of our patients whilst reducing demand on our incredibly busy hospitals.”

Joan Spencer, Senior Responsible Officer for Cheshire and Merseyside Cancer Alliance and The Urgent Cancer Care Programme Board and Chief Executive of The Clatterbridge Cancer Centre, said: “There’s an increasing demand for urgent and emergency care pathways that keep patients out of A&E. Collaborating with teams across different organisations dedicated to improving cancer care has been a privilege, and the progress we’ve made together is truly inspiring.

“With cancer cases on the rise and treatments becoming more specialised, it’s crucial to build strong links between primary and community care, hospital urgent care, and specialist cancer services. Patients should be able to get the right care in the right place, instead of automatically going to emergency departments when experiencing symptoms or treatment side effects.”