This is a special episode of the GM Cancer podcast, celebrating the role of Allied Health Professionals (AHPs) working in cancer care. AHPs are the third largest professional group within the NHS workforce made up of 14 diverse roles, including Occupational Therapists, Therapeutic Radiographers and Speech and Language Therapists.

In this episode, host Steve Bland and guests explore the journey into a specialist AHP role, raise awareness of Cancer specialist AHPs, empower AHPs to become specialists, highlight career opportunities and show how being a specialist AHP is so very, very rewarding.

Steve's guests are:

Siobhan Doherty – Project Support Officer – GM Cancer Alliance – Workforce & Education Team
Lindsay Sudell - Specialist AHP in Brain and CNS Tumour Rehabilitation
Ian Dempsey and Joanne Shaw – Ian is a neuro patient with a positive experience of his treatment throughout his long-term diagnosis. Joanne is Ian's wife and also joined the podcast.

In celebration of National AHP Day on 14th October 2024, GM Cancer is promoting the roles of Specialist Allied Health Professionals working in cancer care in Greater Manchester. Find out more here.

The Alliance has a range of educational offerings and ways to get involved on the day.

• A toolkit with assets to support on your social media channels.
• A Greater Manchester Cancer Academy webinar ‘Allied Health Professionals in Cancer Webinar: Enhancing your Four Pillars of Practice’ on 14th October at 12:00 –13:00. Register your place.
• And this podcast!

In Greater Manchester, we have a large programme of work looking at all aspects of personalised care, and this new series of the GM Cancer Podcast will look at some of the specific areas that we’re working on.

This episode looks at social prescribing. Social prescribing is help that doesn’t come in a pill, tube or bottle! Instead, it connects people to activities, groups and services in their community to meet the practical, social and emotional needs affecting their health and wellbeing. For example, you might feel happier and healthier if you get out for a regular walk with others, do something creative, volunteer or have a say on the things that matter to you and your local community.

Sometimes is easy to do these things. But sometimes you might need a little help to find out more about the support and opportunities out there! That’s where social prescribing comes in. Social prescribing is free and confidential and you can find out more here!

Personalised care is fundamental to delivering better quality care that is meaningful to the individual, supporting improvements in health and wellbeing. This will also help to empower people to manage their care and the impact of their cancer. Everyone is different and will have different concerns when they are diagnosed with cancer; therefore we need to ensure that patients are treated as people and they have the opportunity to discuss all of their concerns, whether during a hospital appointment or with their GP, and get the support they need.

Personalised care is fundamental to delivering better quality care that is meaningful to the individual, supporting improvements in health and wellbeing. This will also help to empower people to manage their care and the impact of their cancer. Everyone is different and will have different concerns when they are diagnosed with cancer; therefore we need to ensure that patients are treated as people and they have the opportunity to discuss all of their concerns, whether during a hospital appointment or with their GP, and get the support they need.

In Greater Manchester, we have a large programme of work looking at all aspects of personalised care, and this new series of the GM Cancer Podcast will look at some of the specific areas that we’re working on.

This episode looks at the Cancer Care Review (CCR), a conversation between a patient and their primary care team about their cancer journey. The CCR is patient led, meaning it is a discussion about things that are important to the patient, and may cover things like their understanding of the diagnosis and the treatment so far, any symptoms they have been struggling with either as an effect of the cancer or the treatment, what support they have or may need, and how best the primary care team can support them as they continue on their cancer journey. It is a holistic review, focusing not only on physical symptoms but on the psychological, social, financial, and other impacts of cancer.

The guests on this episode are:
Tracey Cowburn - Macmillan Cancer Care Coordinator, Denton, Audenshaw & Droylsden PCN
Dr Steve Churchill - GP in Trafford and Former Personalised Care Lead for Primary Care