Virtual Family History Clinic is finalist in the HSJ Awards

HSJ award banner.jpgSurrey and Sussex Cancer Alliance (SSCA) is proud to announce that the Virtual Family History Clinic, launched earlier this year in collaboration with other NHS partners, is a finalist in the Digitising Patient Care category of the Health Service Journal Awards.

The new service, which went live in January across Frimley, Surrey and West Sussex, is joint funded by the SSCA with RM Partners and run by St George's University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.

The digital clinic enables people with a family history of breast cancer to have an assessment to determine their risk of developing the disease. The service also provides access to screening, prevention and early detection programmes for those whose risk levels of developing breast cancer are higher than the national average1.

“We are proud to be supporting this innovative project which has transformed the approach to genetic breast cancer risk assessment for people across the Surrey and Sussex Cancer Alliance and are delighted that the hard work of the team has been recognised by the HSJ,”  says Stephanie Bell, SSCA’s programme director for early diagnosis of cancer. 

Until the launch of the Virtual Family History Clinic, the assessment of people with a family history of breast cancer was a manual and lengthy process, carried out by family history nurses within the local providers, and variable across the SSCA footprint.

The new digital pathway for cancer risk assessment allows patients to be assessed more accurately and quickly, as well as making sure nurses spend less time on data collection and administration and more time on shared decision making with patients to improve care.

Dr Katie Snape, the project lead and lead consultant for cancer genetics at St George’s, says: “The Virtual Family History Clinic team are really proud to be finalists in the HSJ Awards Digitising Patient Care category. Identifying people with an increased chance of developing cancer due to genetic factors can make sure they get extra screening, and other preventative measures as well as catching any cancers as early as possible for the best treatment outcomes. We are delighted this innovative pathway has been recognised and can’t wait to expand this work across our communities to improve equity and diversity of access to assessment and care.”

The HSJ Awards have been running for more than 40 years and are known as the `Oscars’ of the healthcare industry. The winners will be announced at the award ceremony in November.

Read more about the Virtual Family History Clinic on page 8 of the Surrey and Sussex Cancer Alliance Annual Review 2023/24

  1. 1 in 7 women in the UK will develop breast cancer in their lifetime. Source: Cancer Research UK