UKONS President Dr. Catherine Oakley has been invited to join the independent task force which has been asked to deliver the vision set out in the NHS Five Year Forward View. This calls for action on three fronts: better prevention; swifter diagnosis; and better treatment, care and aftercare for all those diagnosed with cancer.
Chaired by Cancer Research UK Chief Executive Harpal Kumar, the taskforce will work across the entire health system. It will include cancer specialist doctors and clinicians, nursing, patients groups and charity leaders, including Macmillan Cancer Support, Public Health England, local councils, and the Royal College of GPs.
It will consider prevention; first contact with services; diagnosis; treatment; support for those living with and beyond cancer and end-of-life care; as well as how all these services will need to develop and innovate in future.
Dr.Oakley is a Chemotherapy Nurse Consultant at Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust in London. She has worked in cancer care for over 20 years as a clinical nurse specialist and lead cancer nurse and in general management. Her main area of interest is chemotherapy, in particular, home support and oral chemotherapy. She was the recipient of the 2008 European Oncology Nursing Society prize for excellence in patient education materials and the 2009 Nursing Standard award for best practice in medication administration.
Dr.Oakley has been an investigator and provided advice on national projects, including a review of cancer inpatient admissions, the National Confidential Enquiry into Patient Outcome and Death within 30 days of systemic anticancer therapy, the Rapid Response Report on risks of incorrect dosing of oral anti-cancer medicines (2008) and the recent NICE Neutropenic Sepsis Guidelines (2012).