Cancer experts pioneer new training in east of England to transform patient care

Multidisciplinary cancer teams across the east of England are leading the way in transforming patient care through better sharing of expertise.

More than 100 cancer specialists who already take part in multidisciplinary team meetings have signed up to join a ground-breaking learning programme, believed to be the first of its kind in the country.

Dr Tayana Soukup, a Research Fellow in Human Factors at the Department of Surgery and Cancer and a psychologist by training, set up the programme after completing her PhD on cancer multidisciplinary team functioning and teamwork, and publishing numerous papers on evaluating and improving multidisciplinary teams (MDTs).

Multidisciplinary teams meet weekly to make crucial recommendations regarding the care and treatment of patients. The new training, funded by the East of England Cancer Alliances, shares recognised best practices for a more consistent approach and is in line with NHS England’s Long-Term Plan directive to transform MDTs.

Improvements are needed in the effectiveness of meetings due to the record numbers of people being diagnosed with cancer, increased complexities as people live longer and the wider ranges of treatment options.

Bringing together a range of cancer specialists – including nurses, radiologists, oncologists, surgeons and pathologists – and improving the way they engage with each other, offers multiple benefits, including:

• Better patient outcomes
• Better decision-making
• Improving efficiency for busy teams

Following evaluation, it is intended that the 18-month training programme will be shared across the country.

The course is led by Dr Ben Lamb and Dr Tayana Soukup, who together have more than 20 years of experience in studying MDTs and delivering MDT improvement and training in the UK and overseas.

Speaking about cancer care, Dr Soukup said: “All too often, decisions are not reached or are not implementable. Sometimes this is because team members do not contribute equally and all too often the patient’s own wishes or preferences are not considered.”

The course's co-lead, Dr Ben Lamb, a consultant urologist who specialises in the management of prostate and bladder cancers, said: “MDTs are seen as the gold standard of cancer care and are essential to high-quality patient care. Evidence shows that MDTs influence treatment or outcomes in more than half of all cases. That means they have significant influence in what happens to patients and we want to ensure that they can consistently embed a culture of quality and improvement.”

"MDT meetings are a crucial part of the cancer care pathway. They routinely review the information and make treatment recommendations, but with better information and more team involvement they can make better decisions.”

The new training introduces validated tools to address this and supports the development of additional materials based on local team requirements.

There are approximately 1,500 cancer MDTs across England and based on the time taken for radiologists and pathologists alone to prepare for these meetings, it is estimated that attendance and preparation costs £100 million a year. That could equate to around £10 million in the east of England.