The Hunts Community Cancer Network (HCCN) have developed an innovative approach to delivering enhanced home-based nursing services to patients recovering from or living with cancer in Huntingdonshire.
To better support patients’ progress, track their participation in classes and monitor any changes in their health and wellbeing, the Hunts Community Cancer Network have partnered with Aseptika Ltd, a local innovator based in Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire, to offer the enhanced “Get Active” programme to avoid the recurrence of cancer through rehabilitation, wellness classes, peer-support and mentoring.
The support was initially provided through a collaboration comprising of the Hunts Community Cancer nursing team, St Neots Community Learning Centre, the HCCN Charity and volunteers. Together they have developed a framework for cancer rehabilitation classes to be led by a qualified personal trainer who is a former oncology nurse. The classes are a hybrid between Phase 3 and Phase 4 rehab services which take place three times per week and are free to patients.
A newly formed partnership with Aseptika Ltd have enabled HCCN to offer their Activ8rlives (A8) platform, a BuddyBand2 activity tracker to patients and integrate the Cloud-based system with the Clinician’s A8 Portal to monitor adherence to exercise and to see any warning signs of relapse.
Eastern Academic Health Science Network (Eastern AHSN) has been supporting both the Hunts Community Cancer Network since April and Aseptika Ltd to expand the functionality of the A8 system to more comprehensively track patient progress. Increasingly report automation allowed HCCN to release time for nursing staff to engage directly with more patients, providing additional education, mental and emotional support during treatment or post recovery. The Eastern AHSN has also provided the team with access to Patient Activation Measure licences, to monitor and measure the impact of the programme for those participating.
Victoria Corbishley, Director of Transformation at the Eastern AHSN, said: “We are delighted to be working with the Hunts Community Cancer Network, bringing together the needs of our local population and innovators, to develop a blueprint for great care for cancer patients in the region.”
HCCN is in the process of establishing a new partnership with Huntingdonshire District Council to establish a new phase 4 cancer rehabilitation class to support patients to graduate to ongoing community-based exercise, releasing capacity for HCCN to support patients who have an active cancer diagnosis.
Kevin Auton, Director Aseptika Ltd, said: “As an innovator what makes this new approach so exciting is to witness that ‘light bulb’ moment when technology and healthcare come together to empower patients. You see with your own eyes how their care gets transformed when they have the right skills, confidence and support to take ownership of their health and wellbeing.
“Eastern AHSN played a pivotal role by providing the pump-priming funding to facilitate the roll-out of this innovative solution with the Hunts Community Cancer Network and now with Huntingdonshire District Council. Without this funding and backing from the Eastern AHSN, we could not have got started.”
Susan Moore, Trustee of the Hunts Community Cancer Network, said: “We are pleased with our collaboration with the Eastern AHSN and Aseptika Ltd to enhance our innovative approach and roll it out across Huntingdonshire area.”
Eastern AHSN is supporting HCCN to develop a blueprint for the model, engaging with the East of England Clinical Cancer Network to support adoption and spread in the region.
ENDS
For more information, interviews and photography please contact Irina Higginson, Communications Manager, Eastern AHSN, Irina.higginson@eahsn.org.
Notes to Editors
Additional information
By 2030, if current trends continue, nearly four million people will be living with cancer in the UK.
A recent National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) publication (July 2017) describes how physical activity in the community improves mobility for cancer survivors which reinforced the work delivered by the Huntingdonshire collaboration, supported by Eastern AHSN. The research highlighted that cancer survivors experience changes to their physical function resulting from cancer and its treatments. Therefore, restoring functionality can help maintain independence.
Macmillan’s report, “Move More”, suggests that cancer patients could be at greater risk of long term health problems or a greater risk of recurrence of cancer because they are not physically active enough.
Macmillan Cancer support (2011) “Move More” Report [online] available at: http://www.macmillan.org.uk/documents/aboutus/newsroom/physicalactivityreport.pdf
About Eastern Academic Health Science Network www.eahsn.org
Eastern Academic Health Science Network (Eastern AHSN) operates as part of the national network of 15 AHSNs, established by NHS England, covering the counties of Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Essex, Norfolk and Suffolk.
Our objective is to support the adoption of proven innovations that will benefit the health and wealth of people and businesses across the East of England.
Our support package includes innovation identification, providing implementation expertise, networking, modelling and guidance on accessing alternative funding streams.
Our strong network of connections access to funding and ideas, and proven history of results, means that the projects we work on have a high certainty of success.
For more information on this project please contact Transformation Support Unit at: STPsupport@eahsn.org or visit http://www.eahsn.org/our-work/supporting-transformation-nhs/
About Hunts Community Cancer Network
Hunts Community Cancer Network (HCCN) comprised of the Hunts Community Cancer nursing team, the HCCN Charity and volunteers.
Working together and delivering a home-based nursing service, our aim is to help people who are recovering from or living with cancer in the Hunts area to take back their lives and to play an active part in managing their health. The team is based at the Woodlands Cancer Unit at Hinchingbrooke Hospital. http://www.hccn.org.uk/
The ‘Get Active’ scheme and BuddyBand2’s are rolling out across the Huntingdonshire area and will need continued funds from fundraising activities to ensure the charity can support everyone who wants access to it. Support can be given through the Just Giving page at: https://www.justgiving.com/hccn.
About Aseptika
Aseptika Limited (founded in 2007) is a healthcare company developing and marketing an integrated suite of self-monitoring devices and services under the Activ8rlives brand. Aseptika is developing integrated systems which can be used by consumer sand their healthcare service provides to better self-manage long term health conditions through self-monitoring.
Aseptika began developing Activ8rlives in 2010 and is currently developing its third generation of integrated systems, which can be used by consumers and their healthcare service providers using a wide range of platforms or devices to better enable effective and easy self-monitoring. Incorporating sensors and monitors ranging from consumer accessories to in vitro diagnostics (IVDs), the systems currently focus on respiratory and cardiovascular disease, cancer promoting physical activity, and weight management. Aseptika joined the Spirit Family of Companies in 2016.
Find out more https://www.activ8rlives.com/about/