The Tessa Jowell Brain Cancer Mission (TJBCM) has announced Alder Hey as one of 15 strong brain tumour centres for children and as one of six centres that have been designated as “Excellent”.
Alder Hey was awarded Centre of Excellence designation after a thorough, expert-led review of services where we were commended for excellence in co-ordination of care across the network, imaging and chemotherapy services, nurse-led care, play therapy provision and their high-quality staff training and wellbeing.
Alder Hey met the Tessa Jowell Standards of Excellence in all aspects of treatment, care and research, with many areas of outstanding service provision. Alder Hey showed strong collaboration throughout the hospital and shared care network, with excellent support provided by a compassionate nursing team. Patients benefit from high-quality rehabilitation, play therapy services and clinical trial opportunities.
The neuro-oncology service at Alder Hey provides multi-disciplinary specialist tertiary care. It is the Primary Treatment Centre for those children and young people within Merseyside, Cheshire, North Wales and the Isle of Man who are diagnosed with a tumour in their brain or spinal cord.
We are delighted that the service has been recognised and accredited as a Tessa Jowell Centre of Excellence for Children. We are proud of the partnership between Alder Hey and the Tessa Jowell Mission and their recognition that the team and service embody a human-centred culture of kindness and compassion, providing wraparound holistic care, achieved by working in partnership with patients, and their families and a team of dedicated professionals to achieve the very best outcome for our patients.”
Dr James Hayden, Consultant Paediatric Neuro-Oncologist & Neuro-Oncology Service Lead at Alder Hey Children’s NHS Foundation Trust
Alder Hey is one of six distinguished centres awarded the coveted Centre of Excellence status, having met the high Standards of Excellence across all 168 areas along their patient pathway. Areas assessed include clinical care, quality of life care and access to clinical trials. Special attention was paid to play therapy and education provision, key elements of children’s cancer care.
These centres are:
- Alder Hey Children’s NHS Foundation Trust
- Great Ormond Street Hospital NHS Foundation Trust (GOSH) and University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (UCLH) Joint Centre
- Greater Manchester Children’s Neuro-oncology Service: The Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital and The Christie NHS Foundation Trust
- Newcastle Hospitals and Newcastle University
- Nottingham Children’s Hospital at Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust
- Sheffield Children’s NHS Foundation Trust
Staff will receive the awards during a ceremony at the Science Gallery London on June 6th in London.
This award marks the first step towards the TJBCM’s vision that “every child with a brain tumour will not only survive but also receive the highest quality of treatment, care and research opportunities”.
Jess Mills, Tessa Jowell’s daughter and TJBCM co-founder, proudly said “Mum’s legacy to transform outcomes for brain cancer patients across the UK has reached another huge milestone. It has been so moving to witness how committed the teams caring for children in hospitals are to come on this journey with us.”
Louise Shepherd CBE, Chief Executive of Alder Hey and Chair NHS England’s National Children and Young People’s Board, said: “It is fantastic to see NHS hospitals across England being recognised as centres of excellence. These awards are a fitting tribute to Tessa Jowell and her dedication to excellence in cancer care, as well as to the NHS staff who work tirelessly to provide the best treatment and support to the children and their families. The NHS is committed to diagnosing and treating cancers as early as possible to give people the best chance of beating the disease, and I encourage anyone who is experiencing any worrying symptoms to contact their GP immediately – getting checked can help save lives.”
Richard Gilbertson, Chair of the TJBCM and Paediatric Oncology Clinician Scientist, said “This initiative has received an overwhelming and enthusiastic response from the paediatric neuro-oncology community. Together, we are working to ensure all children with a brain tumour receive the very best care, wherever they live.”