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Wirral University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust

Recovery Package

The recovery package has been developed and tested by the National Cancer Survivorship Initiative (NCSI) (NHS Improvement 2012) to assist people living with a diagnosis of cancer to prepare for the future, identify their individual needs and support rehabilitation to enable people to return to work and or a near normal lifestyle.

The recovery package has been designed to complement the risk stratification which enables individualised follow-up care as a supported self management programme, shared care or complex care.

What is the recovery package?

Holistic Needs Assessment (HNA)

HNA is carried out at diagnosis, end of treatment and any other significant point. The assessment identifies the individual needs of the person affected by cancer and contributes to a consultation. The consultation can then be focused on the needs identified, a care plan can be developed and an appropriate referral can be made to services that support patients, such as lymphoedema, psychological and services dealing with the consequences of treatment.

This ensures that care is proactive and support services are planned and accessed appropriately. The assessment can be used to inform the treatment summary. The patient receives a copy of the care plan to enable self management and a copy is sent to the GP.

Holistic Needs Assessment (HNA)

Holistic Needs Assessment (HNA) is carried out at diagnosis, end of treatment and any other significant point. The assessment identifies the individual needs of the person affected by cancer and contributes to a consultation. The consultation can then be focused on the needs identified, a care plan can be developed and an appropriate referral can be made to services that support patients, such as lymphoedema, psychological and services dealing with the consequences of treatment. This ensures that care is proactive and support services are planned and accessed appropriately.

The assessment can be used to inform the treatment summary. The patient receives a copy of the care plan to enable self management and a copy is sent to the GP.

End of Treatment

EOT summary is developed by the multidisciplinary team to inform the patient and the GP of the care and treatment received. The summary includes possible treatment toxicities and / or late effects, alert symptoms that require referral back to a specialist team, an ongoing management plan, and a summary of information given to the patient about their cancer and future progress and any required GP actions to support the patient.

Cancer Care Review

A Cancer Care Review is carried out by the GP three to six months following a diagnosis of cancer and covers post-treatment support, financial impact of cancer, patient awareness of prescription exemptions, possible late effects of cancer and cancer treatment and the information needs to enable self management.