The Teenage Cancer Trust will focus on sustaining its frontline NHS services and addressing equity in its new two-year strategy.
The strategy, Putting Young People First, was announced alongside a new website and diversity and inclusion statement today.
Kate Collins, CEO of Teenage Cancer Trust, said: “Teenage Cancer Trust’s new website is the centre of our digital world and a place that young people can turn to at any time, for trusted information and advice.”
NHS frontline services
For over 30 years, Teenage Cancer Trust has provided specialist age-appropriate care and support for people aged 13-24 in the UK. The charity estimates that every day, seven young people are told they have cancer. It is the leading cause of death for teenagers in the UK.
Teenage Cancer Trust runs 28 specialised units in NHS hospitals for young people with cancer.
One of the charity’s key objectives is to continue providing this service to a high standard, by ensuring its units are fit for the future and adaptable to changing treatments. By 2024, the charity hopes to have extended its network of nurses, youth workers and specialist staff. Teenage Cancer Trust will scope and plan its capital investments in NHS hospital units over the next five years.
Collins said: “As we emerge from the pandemic, which has put our health service under unprecedented strain, we risk the gains of the last 30 years being unwound. So, as we rebuild cancer services, we must also strive to improve them.”
Another focus of the charity’s two-year-strategy is equity. Teenage Cancer Trust aims to use data to analyse, understand and improve the reach of its services. The charity will try to understand the different social inequalities that impact the experiences of young people with cancer.
Tackling how to counteract the isolation young people with cancer face is another key focus. The charity aims to counteract this by providing professional and peer-to-peer connections to its beneficiaries.
Partnerships
Lastly, the charity wants to lead the way on research, partnerships and platforms. Last year, Teenage Cancer Trust entered a formal partnership with CLIC Sargent and the Ellen MacArthur Cancer Trust to offer streamlined care and support for young people with cancer.
Collins said: “Over the past 12 months, the partnership has worked together to identify areas where we can combine knowledge, expertise and resources so we can support young people better.
“Effective partnerships like these will help the charity get increasingly closer to ensuring that by 2040, young people with cancer in the UK will have the best outcomes and quality of life in the world.”
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