Headlines 2022

Members’ Headlines Summer 2022

Moving into Macclesfield

The Christie at Macclesfield

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Patient stories

Highlights of the Year

Contents

The last few years have been challenging for everyone and we hope you are interested to read about how the Trust has adapted to these challenges and how our projects are progressing. Most of our communications to our members are sent by email. If you haven’t heard from us in a while, it’s likely we don’t have an email address for you. To update your record, please send your name, postcode and email address to: the-christie.members@nhs.net If you have friends or family who would like to become members, please ask them to visit our website and complete the membership form at www.christie.nhs.uk/members If you would like to update your membership details or let us know what information you would like to receive, you can do this on our website: www.christie.nhs.uk/join Welcome to the new edition of Headlines Invitation to the Annual Members’ Meeting We would like to invite you to attend this year’s Annual Members’ Meeting on Tuesday 4th October at 12 noon. The meeting will last about an hour and will include Trust achievements in 2021/22, highlights of the year followed by a Q & A session with Chief Executive, Roger Spencer and Chair, Chris Outram. Please take a look at the back page for more details on how to join the virtual meeting. We look forward to seeing you there! Membership at The Christie There are three levels of membership communications, and our members can choose what they want to receive. • General information (sent to all our members) – this includes Headlines magazine, your invitation to the Annual Members’ Meeting and other Trust-wide events such as open days. We will also contact you to vote for your governor when elections take place. • Events and meetings – We will let you know about any departmental events or meetings that you might be interested in. • Focus groups and online surveys – this is a great way to have your say on how we shape and improve our

3 Patient stories 4-5 Moving into Macclesfield 6-7 Highlights of the Year 8 Invitation to the Annual Members’ Meeting

You are a key part of The Christie and, through the Council of Governors, influence how The Christie is run. Your governors are here to represent you at the highest level. If you have any suggestions, views or concerns and would like to contact your governor please get in touch with the membership office: The Christie Membership Office, 550 Wilmslow Road, Manchester M20 4BX Email: the-christie.members@nhs.net How to contact us and your governor We are interested in your comments and feedback on the content of Headlines – if there is something you would like to see in the next issue, please email the membership office: the-christie.members@nhs.net

You can follow The Christie on Twitter @TheChristieNHS , or our charity @TheChristie You can also follow us on our Trust

Facebook page TheChristieNHS or our charity Facebook page TheChristiecharity

services at The Christie. We will email you with information about these as they are arranged.

And if you’re a member of LinkedIn, why not connect with The Christie company profile? Follow our charity on Instagram @christiecharity

Another great way of keeping up to date with news from around the Trust is to visit our news web pages. Here you can read about the latest Trust developments, patient stories and news from around The Christie: www.christie.nhs.uk/news

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Patient stories

Robotic operation first gives Paul and Lisa their dream summer wedding A robotic operation, thought to be one of the first of its kind in the UK, allowed a groom diagnosed with testicular cancer to make it to the church on time in good health for his wedding. Paul Hutchinson tied the knot with fiancée Lisa Bamforth in Poulton-le-Fylde last summer Paul said: “I genuinely didn’t think we could go ahead with the wedding as I was convinced I would not be well enough. The incredible robotic operation has dramatically reduced my recovery time and left me feeling fit and well”. The Christie has one of the largest robotic centres in the UK and the aim is to use that experience and expertise to allow more patients to potentially undergo this minimally invasive surgery to treat metastatic testicular cancer. The robot offers a highly magnified, 3D view with intricate instrument dexterity following the innovative procedure performed at The Christie.

New cancer treatments offered at home benefit Jean

a lot less stressful. It took about 30 minutes from start to end to get

treated for testicular cancer and a brain tumour has highlighted the importance that complementary therapies can have by backing one of our charity appeals. Phil Gledhill, aged 32, was diagnosed with testicular cancer late last year after being in pain for months. Following scans and investigations, Phil was referred to The Christie where he had surgery and is undergoing months of chemotherapy after it was discovered the tumour had spread to his brain. Phil, a scaffolder who lives in Farnworth with his partner Danielle, is being supported through his treatment by The Christie’s complementary health and wellbeing team, who provided him with self-help, resilience and relaxation techniques plus regular This year we have been continuing to expand the treatments we offer to patients at home – and one of those to benefit was retired store manager Jean Woods from Rochdale. Jean was diagnosed with HERS-2 positive breast cancer in November 2020 and initially travelled to Oldham for chemotherapy and hormonal treatments before becoming eligible to have her treatment at home. Jean said: “I was thrilled I was able to have my treatment at home once every three weeks. It was so much more convenient and

Jean Woods

the injection I needed. I knew that the nurse would come at a particular time and I could then get on with the rest of the day.” As a pioneer in providing chemotherapy treatments at home, The Christie has almost doubled the number of treatments offered to patients in their own home over the last three years and hopes to increase this further in the future.

Christie complementary therapy gives boost to Phil A Bolton man currently being

massages whilst he was in hospital, to help relieve stress and pain. He said: “I was really struggling physically and

Phil Gledhill with partner Danielle

emotionally when one of the nurses suggested a massage might help me. It seems such a simple thing, but when I was at my lowest, a massage and talking to a therapist helped me get through.” The Christie’s complementary health and wellbeing service provides vital support to patients during and after their treatment using techniques such as massage, acupuncture and relaxation which have been clinically proven to provide benefits. The service is entirely funded through charitable donations and costs over £200,000 each year.

to ensure careful removal of cancerous nodes whilst

preserving nerves and offering an enhanced recovery with much shorter convalescence.

Paul and Lisa at a recent birthday party

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Moving into Macclesfield

Moving into Macclesfield

After many years in the planning, we were delighted to start treating patients at The Christie in December, marking a new chapter in cancer care for East Cheshire and the surrounding area. Funded through £23m from The Christie charity, The Christie at Macclesfield will transform cancer care not just in East Cheshire but in the rest of the county, North Staffordshire and the High Peak area of Derbyshire. The new centre provides a range of holistic services including radiotherapy, chemotherapy, immunotherapy, hormone therapies, haematology treatments, outpatient care, nurse-led clinics, counselling services, an information centre, palliative care and a wide range of clinical trials. It will be delivering 12,500 radiotherapy treatments every year and 6,800 chemotherapy, immunotherapy and hormonal treatments.

Did you know? • Cancer patients may need radiotherapy every weekday for up to six weeks. • There are two radiotherapy machines at The Christie at Macclesfield, each weighing 6.5 tonnes and costing around £2m each. They are housed in two treatment rooms that have been specially designed with concrete walls up to two metres thick. • The new centre will provide 46,000 patient appointments and visits each year and will provide care closer to home for more than 1,500 patients a year. The centre marks a new era in cancer care and treatment for people from East Cheshire and the surrounding areas. Many patients from Macclesfield and beyond previously had to travel to our Withington site and radiotherapy patients, in particular, will benefit from a shorter journey as they have to attend for treatment more regularly. This ambitious project includes: specialist examination rooms, a new chemotherapy suite, a CT scanner where treatments are planned, counselling and complementary therapy rooms, a cancer information centre, a charity centre and a refreshment area.

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Moving into Macclesfield

Our first patient Sue Thompson from Holmes Chapel, was the first patient to receive chemotherapy in the new cancer centre. Having discovered a breast lump in early August 2021, Sue was diagnosed with breast cancer that September and has since undergone chemotherapy before surgery and radiotherapy. Sue said: “This centre makes a huge difference to patients from East Cheshire and the surrounding areas, providing the highest standard of care from The Christie, but all under one roof and closer to patients’ homes. I’ve gone on to have both chemotherapy and radiotherapy at the centre, and I’ve felt the tremendous benefit of being able to have my treatment locally. “The new centre is bright, airy, spacious, calm and relaxing. It is exactly what you want when you are going through something as challenging as cancer. It’s going to be much better for patients like me to be able to access Christie care in Macclesfield from now on.”

First for radiotherapy

Thomas Walker

Thomas Walker from Holmes Chapel was the first patient to receive radiotherapy at the new centre. Thomas was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2021 and referred to The Christie for hormone therapy and 20 sessions of radiotherapy treatment. He said: “The new centre looks great and I was so pleased that I could finish my radiotherapy treatment here rather than having to travel to Manchester which was a two hour round trip for me. The staff in Macclesfield were superb and looked after me so well. It feels so calm and is bright, clean and spacious, with brand new technology. I am sure that The Christie at Macclesfield will make a massive difference to so many patients like me from East Cheshire and the surrounding areas.”

Sue Thompson

Our team of experts A team of 53 staff are now in place to take care of our patients, covering a wide range of clinical and non clinical disciplines. The team features four consultants, nine nurses, 18 radiotherapists, three engineers, two specialist nurse practitioners, 10 admin staff and health care assistants, a physicist, an information centre co ordinator, complementary therapists, and a fundraiser to staff the new charity centre.

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Highlights of the year

Our Annual Highlights 2021/22

Dominated but not defined by the pandemic During 2021/22, our efforts at The Christie continued to revolve around providing safe, quality services for our patients during an unprecedented global pandemic. This year, The Christie has continued to operate as a protected site, working under strict biosecurity measures to ensure we have been consistently able to treat our patients safely. We have been amazed by our patients, who have adapted to the necessary changes in the best spirit possible. We understood how difficult it has been to ask patients to attend important appointments alone and to restrict visiting, but patients responded with positivity and acceptance, remaining reassured by all we have done for the safety of those in our care. Our staff have continued to go the extra mile under exceptional circumstances, and for that we couldn’t be more thankful and proud. Not only have we looked after our own patients, we have also provided some additional treatment for patients who may usually have received their cancer care in other hospitals across our network. Right now we are very much focused on providing business as usual for our patients, including those who have been affected by COVID-19. Having weathered the storm so far, we continue to take a cautious approach to the easing of measures onsite, but we have fortunately been able to ease some of the restrictions as we learn to live with this virus and return to a sense of normality whilst protecting our vulnerable patients.

Using feedback to boost care As we continue to strive to get our services back to normal following COVID-19, our strategy at The Christie remains focused on four key themes: leading cancer care, The Christie experience, local and specialist care, and best outcomes. Our desire is to always give the very best care and treatment to our patients and we work tirelessly to ensure everything we do is focused on this goal. Feedback is one of the main ways we identify our strategy is working, and we continue to perform well in surveys and patient feedback exercises. The Christie once again received excellent results in the annual national inpatient survey.

Improving our services The Christie is proud to be the largest radiotherapy provider in the NHS. We are also the largest provider in Europe, with 1 in 20 radiotherapy treatments delivered at The Christie. This year saw the continued expansion of our state-of-the-art radiotherapy treatment using the MR-guided linear accelerator (MR-linac) which is the first machine of its kind to do real-time MRI scans while it targets X-ray beams at tumours, making it more accurate and reducing side effects. Being able to more specifically target tumours and avoid more healthy tissue around them means the machine can target X-rays better. The £5.3m machine was part funded by donations to The Christie charity and this year we were delighted to able to begin to treat patients with lung cancer with this important new technique. Our staff: the jewel in our crown Everything we achieve at The Christie is only possible because of our staff and their hard work and dedication. We continue to perform well in staff surveys, with the majority of employees saying they would recommend the hospital to family and friends. The success of our clinicians also continues to be celebrated with many receiving praise and awards regionally and nationally for their work.

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Highlights of the year

Building research and innovation Another new building project which took major strides forward this year was our new research facility, currently known as the Paterson redevelopment project, which is now being built at The Christie to replace the fire-damaged Paterson building. The new centre will be a

Care closer to home As our patient numbers continue to grow, providing

care closer to home is becoming ever more

Education and collaboration This year saw the continued growth of our School of Oncology with our team delivering high-quality education and training to students, staff, and the national/international cancer workforce. International arm continues to make progress, offering expertise and education to other cancer centres across the globe, this year working with colleagues in Nigeria supporting them over the next decade to develop their clinical and technical expertise. chemotherapy closer to and in patients’ homes, which has been particularly important as part of our drive to keep people safe during the pandemic. Alongside the School of Oncology, our Christie important and this year we were delighted when our plans for a new Christie cancer centre in Macclesfield came to fruition. During 2021/22, we have also seen the further development of our services to provide

Looking ahead Without a doubt, the strength of our underlying patient-centred culture, highly motivated and compassionate staff, oncology expertise and organisational culture will ensure that we can respond in an agile and effective way to any new demands placed upon us as we continue to learn to live with COVID-19. As we look ahead we know that there will be further challenges to face, in particular the need to respond to an increase in demand for our services from patients as a continued after-effect of the pandemic. We are determined to continue to put patients at the heart of everything we do and do everything possible to provide the best possible treatment and care in the years ahead. We remain focussed on innovation and improvement to ensure that all of our services are truly world-class. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, our research and innovation team was already operating more than 650 clinical trials at any one time and the facility was one of the biggest cancer clinical trials centres in Europe. Through our National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Manchester Clinical Research Facility at The Christie, staff and patients benefit from a large, dedicated clinical research environment where patients can participate in complex and early phase clinical trials. Research teams have continued to achieve the recruitment of the first patients to a number of UK, European and global clinical trials meaning that The Christie patients have had unique access to many pioneering therapies. purpose-built biomedical cancer research facility bringing together three powerhouses of innovation – The Christie, The University of Manchester and Cancer Research UK. Construction work is on track on the new facility which will become home to several hundred scientists, doctors, nurses and support staff who will be at the heart of our ambition to lead the world in clinical trial recruitment, supporting the development of new and kinder cancer therapies.

Charitable support Much of our research work is funded through donations and our charity has continued to support the work of the Trust through its fundraising activities and delivers projects, equipment and improvements that are over and above what the NHS funds. Fortunately, as restrictions were eased in the latter part of the year, some of our events began to be reinstated. We remain incredibly grateful to those who have been able to support us throughout the year, albeit in a way that is different to normal. The charity has over 50,000 supporters who helped raise £13.2m this year.

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Invitation to The Christie NHS Foundation Trust Virtual Annual Members’ Meeting 2022 Please join us for our virtual Annual Members’ Meeting on Tuesday 4th October at 12pm . The meeting will last about an hour and will include Trust achievements in 2021/22, highlights of the year followed by a Q & A session with Chief Executive, Roger Spencer and Chair, Chris Outram. The meeting will be live streamed and we will be using ON24 for this session. In order to access the meeting, you just need to do the following: 1. Visit the Annual Members’ Meeting webpage on The Christie website: www.christie.nhs.uk/amm 2. Click on the link: Register for the Annual Members Meeting 2022 on ON24 and complete the registration details. 3. You will then be emailed a link from our webinar provider to access the live session and you will be able to join from 15 minutes before the start of the meeting. 4. You can watch the session in either Google Chrome or Microsoft Edge. Internet Explorer will not work. 5. If you are unable to join the live meeting, the catch-up link will be released on the website page below after the session has finished. For more information about the Annual Members’ Meeting, please visit the website: www.christie.nhs.uk/amm There are many ways in which you, as a member, can support The Christie such as voting for your local governor or taking part in surveys. Some of you are active supporters of The Christie charity as well as members and we really appreciate the time and the hard work you give. I hope you will join us on Tuesday 4th October. If you intend to come to the Annual Members’ Meeting it would help us if you could let us know by emailing us at the-christie.members@nhs.net Warm regards,

Christine Outram MBE Chair

Notice is given that the Annual Members’ Meeting of The Christie NHS Foundation Trust will be held at 12.00pm on Tuesday 4th October 2022 virtually via ON24. The business will be as follows: 1. To receive the annual report and accounts 2021/22 2. To receive the report of the auditor 3. To receive a report on membership issues

4. To receive the results of the election and appointment of governors By order of the Council of Governors, The Christie NHS Foundation Trust

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