Ormskirk Hospital has scooped a national award for its commitment to patients living with incurable blood cancer.
The hospital has received the Myeloma UK Clinical Service Excellence Programme (CSEP) Award in recognition of its outstanding care and dedication to patients with myeloma, an incurable blood cancer which claims the lives of 3,000 people in the UK each year.
Staff were praised for their efforts to improve patients’ quality of life and eagerness to listen to their needs.
The accolade, awarded by blood cancer charity Myeloma UK, recognises hospitals’ commitment to raising the bar for treatment and providing compassionate care.
Gemma Alston, Haematology Clinical Nurse Specialist at Ormskirk Hospital, said:
“The Myeloma UK Clinical Service Excellence Programme award recognises the efforts of the haematology team and is testament to the team’s commitment to advancing patient care.
“We are proud to offer a service which is highly responsive to our patients’ needs. It has been a rewarding experience to work alongside Myeloma UK to complete the award and celebrate areas in which we excel but also identify areas which can be improved. We hope this award helps to promote confidence for new patients and reaffirms our dedication to improving outcomes and quality of life for our existing patients.”
Myeloma is especially hard to spot as the symptoms are often vague and dismissed as ageing or other minor conditions.
By the time many patients are diagnosed their cancer has often advanced and they require urgent treatment. This can significantly impact their chances of survival and quality of life.
Rhys Owens, Clinical Practice Services Senior Projects Officer at Myeloma UK, said:
“Myeloma is a challenging cancer which keeps coming back and can be really difficult to cope with both physically and mentally, so we were hugely impressed with the hospital’s efforts to ease patients’ burden.
“Gemma and the team are there every step of the way, checking in with patients before, during and after treatment, to help them navigate the rollercoaster of living with an incurable cancer and signpost support services as soon as they need them.
“Staff also work closely with the local support group to make sure no one with myeloma is left behind. Following the group’s feedback, disabled access was improved at the entrance to the hospital.
“To see the team going the extra mile day after day to give those affected by myeloma a fighting chance to live well with cancer is truly inspiring.”
Myeloma occurs in the bone marrow and currently affects over 24,000 people in the UK.
It is a relapsing-remitting cancer, meaning that although many patients will experience periods of remission following treatment, the disease will inevitably return.
While it is incurable, myeloma is treatable in the majority of cases. Treatment is aimed at controlling the disease, relieving the complications and symptoms it causes, and extending and improving patients’ quality of life.
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