The Clatterbridge Cancer Centre NHS Foundation Trust

♥️ Today is Restart a Heart Day♥️ This week, Clatterbridge Cancer Centre's dedicated Resus Officer, Lauren Attwood has been in Reception at our Liverpool hospital, talking to patients and staff about the importance of basic CPR and how to safely use a defibrillator device if you ever need to. Lauren's role involves training and educating all our clinical staff to respond quickly and appropriately in a cardiac emergency, how to use a defibrillator effectively and also how to respond to anaphylactic shock. This Restart a Heart Day, Lauren's also showing our patients and staff our new defibrillators, which are similar to those found out in the community. These amazing machines talk to users, telling them exactly what to do to help a patient in cardiac arrest, as well as monitoring the users activity to report back on how well the CPR was performed. They also have a loud metronome so anyone using it knows that they're performing CPR to the correct rhythm.

Clatterbridge is trailblazing a new treatment for an aggressive form of brain cancer. It is the first research site in the UK to open and recruit a patient to the international Gliofocus study, a major clinical trial which aims to improve outcomes for people with glioblastoma, a fast-growing type of brain cancer. The research is taking place at sites across the world, and 450 participants are due to be recruited, with three patients now signed up at The Clatterbridge Cancer Centre. Dr Shaveta Mehta, the study’s Principal Investigator at CCC, said: “It is a huge achievement for our team to enrol the first patient in the UK on to this study,” Read more on our website: https://orlo.uk/PB92Z

Congratulations to our Clinical Education department, who hosted colleagues from across the North West and beyond yesterday at another very successful Cancer Care Conference in Liverpool! The conference was opened by CCC Chief Executive, Joan Spencer, and explored key topics relating to cancer care, with a focus on Shared Decision Making, whilst considering how the patient experience can be enhanced. Delegates listened to presentations and took part in communication workshops from individuals at CCC and other NHS and care organisations. The Clinical Education team would like to thank all attendees, speakers, and sponsors, for making such a successful day possible 👏 Read more about the day: https://orlo.uk/0tzI2

Clatterbridge consultant and cancer vaccine expert Prof Christian Ottensmeier recently gave a prestigious talk in India, speaking about how these vaccines are shaping the future of cancer treatment. Prof Ottensmeier delivered the Dr S Krishnamurthi Memorial Oration at The Tamil Nadu Dr MGR Medical University and Cancer Institute in Chennai. His talk, ‘Cancer vaccines and stratified medicine: towards ration decision making in immunotherapy for patient benefit’, highlighted the future of these pioneering treatments, which he is researching at Clatterbridge and the University of Liverpool.

We are delighted to announce that Dr Helen Innes has been appointed Director of Medical Education with effect from 1 October 2025. Helen is a Consultant Medical Oncologist who specialises in breast cancer. She trained at Cambridge and Oxford Universities and has an MD from the University of Liverpool. She has long been involved in medical education as a Royal College Tutor and then Training Programme Director for Medical Oncology for Mersey Deanery. Helen has also held a number of leadership roles at The Clatterbridge Cancer Centre, including most recently as Associate Medical Director for Networked Services. She succeeds Prof Isabel Syndikus who has stepped down from the role of Director of Medical Education after almost six years. Isabel has been an inspirational leader and our medical education programme has been completely transformed – and significantly expanded – since she took up the post in December 2019. Medical Director Dr Caroline Brammer said: “I am absolutely delighted that Helen has been appointed our new Director of Medical Education and look forward to working with her. Educating and developing the next generation of doctors and other professionals is one of the most important things we do. Our medical education programme has gone from strength to strength under Isabel’s leadership and I am incredibly grateful to her for all her work over the last six years.”

📰 The latest edition of C3 Magazine is out now 📰 Our annual members magazine is out now, with inspiring stories from our patients and staff, updates on our pioneering research and news on how @ClatterbridgeCC is supporting our hospitals through its brilliant fundraising. Read the latest edition via the link in the comments.

Today, we bid a fond farewell to Janet Ireland, our Lead Clinical Nurse Specialist (CNS) in Lymphoedema, as she begins her well-earned retirement after 19 incredible years at CCC. Jan joined us in 2006, rotating through Mersey and Conway wards before becoming a Lymphoedema CNS in 2011. Since then, she has single-handedly led and grown the lymphoedema service, recruited additional team members, and introduced new treatments and equipment. Thanks to her leadership, the clinic now supports 561 patients — a true testament to Jan’s unwavering dedication to service development and patient care. Jan, we’d like to thank you for your commitment over the years and wish you a long and happy retirement! 💚

We're delighted to announce that members of our Armed Forces Network (AFN) have been awarded the prestigious Veterans Covenant Healthcare Alliance (VHCA) Merit Coin in recognition of their fantastic work supporting veterans and commitment to removing disadvantage for the armed forces community. Deputy Chief Nurse Lindsey Dawson, Cheshire and Merseyside Cancer Alliance Transformation Manager Simon Glazebrook, and Consultant Scientist in Haemato-Oncology Tracey Smith-Straney, were nominated by Patient Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Manager and fellow AFN member Alun Evans, who also received a coin, for their hard work and involvement in CCC's re-accreditation as a Veteran Aware Trust. The VCHA Merit Coin is a symbol of deep appreciation - a heartfelt tribute to those whose actions uplift, support, and strengthen the community, and a tangible way to say thank you.

🥇 We're rated one of the top hospitals in England for the sixth year running🥇 The Clatterbridge Cancer Centre is delighted to have once again been rated as one of the top hospitals in the country for inpatient care in the National Inpatient Survey. Our Trust was rated third best nationally and one of only eight hospital trusts to achieve the top overall rating of 'Much better than expected" by the Care Quality Commission (CQC). The survey involved 131 NHS organisations in England and was completed by over 62,000 patients across the country who spent at least one night in hospital in 2024. These amazing results are a testament to the hard word and dedication of our teams across our inpatients wards, who strive every day to offer the very best care and support to our patients. A huge thank you to them! And also to our patients, who took the time to fill in the survey.

The Clatterbridge Cancer Centre has been placed in the best-performing segment of a new national ranking system for NHS organisations in England. We also achieved the eighth best score nationally out of the 134 acute NHS providers that were assessed. The NHS Oversight Framework (NOF) rates NHS organisations in England against a range of metrics that cover waiting times, treatment outcomes, patient safety, patient experience, people and workforce, and finance and productivity. There are 4 segments: 1 – High performing 2 – Above average 3 – Below average 4 – Low performing The Clatterbridge Cancer Centre has been placed in segment 1 (high performing), based on our performance in the first quarter (April, May and June) of 2024/25. Ratings will be updated every three months and published on a national website. Not all metrics apply to every organisation. For example, only hospitals with emergency departments are scored on A&E waiting times. Some metrics are based on whether an organisation is achieving targets in the plan it agreed with NHS England for 2025/26. Joan Spencer, Chief Executive of The Clatterbridge Cancer Centre, said: “The NHS Oversight Framework assesses organisations against a rigorous set of criteria. Being placed in the best-performing segment is a real testament to the hard work of our staff and teams who deserve enormous credit for these results.” We are committed to building on this through ongoing innovation, collaboration and dedication to providing excellent care to the people we serve.