Community cancer rehabilitation team wins national award
The South East London Community Head and Neck Cancer Team (CHANT) has won a prestigious national NHS award for providing support, advice and specialist rehabilitation for patients who have undergone treatment for head and neck cancer. The team’s achievements were recognised this week (on Wednesday 17 July) at the annual awards ceremony run by NHS England’s Chief Allied Health Professions Officer, Suzanne Rastrick, to celebrate the role of allied health professionals.
Lucy Carter, Divisional Director of Professions and Governance from Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Trust said: “We set up this service in 2010 and provide it in partnership with Guys’ and St Thomas’ NHS Trust. Patients who have had treatment for head and neck cancer can have problems communicating, swallowing or breathing – so the CHANT team of speech therapists, occupational therapists and specialist nurses, dieticians and physiotherapists provide vital personalised support to those who need it, helping them to recover as much as possible.
“The team have worked really hard to make sure that all patients receive a great service, no matter where they are treated. We’ve received very moving feedback from patients on how the service has made a huge difference to their lives, and it is wonderful to see that the staff have been recognised at these prestigious national awards.”
The CHANT team provide rehabilitation and emotional support to patients in community health centres across south east London and in patients’ own homes.