WINNER

Bringing the MDT to the patient: an innovative clinic in Cornwall for a rare cancer

by Royal Cornwall Hospitals Trust

Mycosis fungoides Cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (MF-CTCL) is a rare condition with diagnostic and management challenges as no standard pathway exists. Patients require haematology and dermatology involvement for optimal management, and regional supranetwork skin multidisciplinary team for the majority of patients (BAD guidelines). However, this distances patients and local clinicians from the decision-making process. We designed a new multidisciplinary model that includes local Cornwall dermatology and haematology teams with the assistance of a regional expert from Bristol to evaluate all of our region’s MF-CTCL patients to ensure appropriate staging and management, and improve the quality of patient care and experience.

Judges’ comments:

“The Royal Cornwall Hospitals Trust entry offered a truly valuable service to patients. It was fantastic for teaching and training and the judges liked that it addressed a less common condition. It was well thought out and the model is transferable to more common conditions. A very deserving winner. “

HIGHLY COMMENDED

East Suffolk Community Dermoscopy Service

by Suffolk GP Federation and Suffolk and North East Essex Integrated Care Board

In December 2022, a community dermoscopy service was introduced in east Suffolk for patients with skin lesions, delivered by experienced primary care clinicians and managed by Suffolk GP Federation. The service aims to improve the quality of secondary care referrals, reduce unnecessary hospital activity and provide care closer to home for patients. To date, 285 patients have attended of whom 68% have been discharged with reassurance. 31 patients have been referred on the two-week wait (2ww) pathway, supporting faster cancer diagnosis. There has been a 32% reduction in referrals to secondary care, associated cost savings and excellent patient feedback.

Judges’ comments:

“The East Suffolk Community Dermoscopy Service entry showed good working across different team members. The judges could see the potential for wider national dissemination. It was innovative and a good initiative. It met its key objectives and demonstrated cost savings. It had a very good system of filtering out the benign lesions and was well written.”