Chesterfield Hospital receives top award for cancer care

Chesterfield Hospital NHS Foundation Trust has scooped a national award for its commitment to patients living with incurable blood cancer – known as myeloma.

The hospital’s haematology team was presented with the Myeloma UK Clinical Service Excellence Programme (CSEP) Award in recognition of its outstanding care and dedication to patients with myeloma, an incurable blood cancer which claims the lives of 3,000 people in the UK each year.

The accolade, awarded by charity Myeloma UK, recognises the hospital’s commitment to raising the bar for treatment and providing compassionate and personalised care to patients.

Myeloma is especially hard to spot as its symptoms are often vague and dismissed as ageing or other minor conditions.  By the time many patients are diagnosed their cancer has often advanced and they require urgent treatment. This can significantly impact their chances of survival and quality of life. 

Gillian Bingham has been a haematology patient for 12 years and is part of the Haematology Support Group that presented the award. She said: “It has been a good journey with Chesterfield Hospital. When I first started it was a small clinic room but since moving to the NGS Macmillan Unit – wow what a difference in the location. The staff are so good, they always do go the extra mile. You can call them if you have a problem, or you are unsure about something. Nothing is too much trouble!”

Staff at the Trust were praised by Myeloma UK for their efforts to improve patients’ quality of life and eagerness to adapt and truly listen to their needs.

Richard Went, Haematology Consultant at CRH said: “We were originally accredited in 2019 - we submitted this year and went through eight areas such as patient experience, patient information, the holistic care we offer and clinical trials, and we were found to be excellent in all eight areas. This is testament to the work that has been put into the service over the last five years to keep it improving. This accreditation is especially impressive because of the additional pressure generated by Covid – it is humbling to know that we have been able to provide an excellent service during challenging times.

He added: “In Myeloma, team work is essential, and it is really important that we have good relationships with others areas such as imaging, renal, pharmacy, palliative care. It is a disease that involves many teams and we are really lucky to have strong partnerships with other services at the Trust and across the region, to help us provide people with an excellent service.

Angela Gascoigne, Haematology Specialist Nurse said: “As a team we are very proud to have achieved Myeloma UK reaccreditation particularly as several domains focus on holistic care. We are one of only seven District General Hospitals that have this award in the UK and also been reaccredited. I do advocate Myeloma UK to our patients because I think it is excellent organisation for information and support.”