TEENAGERS with cancer would stand a better chance of survival if they were treated at a specialist centre for young people, an expert said today.
Health bosses are exploring proposals to establish a cancer treatment facility in Edinburgh dedicated to the care of adolescents and young adults as part of an on-going review of children’s services.
Currently, young cancer patients are either treated on paediatric wards or among adults - a situation which leaves them isolated from their peers.
Gill Harley is based in Edinburgh and is Scotland’s only specialist nurse dedicated to the well-being of teenagers and young adults with cancer.
She believes the health service has so far underestimated the clinical benefits associated with providing teenagers with the space to relax with their peers, play music or study while in hospital.
She said: “What we would dearly love to have in Edinburgh is a teenager cancer unit. We need one area where there is appropriate accommodation for their age group and where the staff are specially trained.
“It improves the cure rate when young people are in one of these units because it improves their morale because they are with like-minded people. Ideally what we would be hoping for is a unit at the Western General Hospital - that would be our dream.”
Mrs Harley said specialist facilities for young people are now commonplace in England and centres are also planned in the west of Scotland.
She added: “Staff are realising that this is a lost tribe that has missed out because they have been locked into paediatric or adult care. We need to design treatment around that age group.”
Mrs Harley’s post was established by the charity Macmillan Cancer Support and she is currently looking after almost 200 young people.
As well as helping the young person come to terms with their diagnosis, she also talks to the patient’s peers and urges them to remain in frequent contact. She is on hand via e-mail, text message and telephone to answer queries from her patients.
“I’m supporting them in any way I can,” she said.
“Most of the treatment for this age group is very intense. The chemotherapy is intense so they have a longer period when they are in hospital and they become very ill.
“I will visit them on the ward and really make sure their symptoms are well managed and they are being seen by the right people. I’m the glue that sticks everyone together in a way so we can make sure there is a seamless service.”
Mrs Harley said there is also a need for at least two more specialist nurses as she receives referrals from across Scotland.
NHS Lothian said the future of young people’s services will be considered as part of an on-going review which also includes plans for a new Royal Hospital for Sick Children in Edinburgh.
Jackie Sansbury, NHS Lothian’s director of strategic planning and modernisation, said: “We have just started consultations on a children and young person’s strategy and part of that will be looking at the delivery of healthcare to children over 13 years old - concentrating on those aged up to 16 to 18 years.
“The new build, planned to reprovide the services from the Royal Hospital for Sick Children, will give us the perfect opportunity to do this. More specific details about the shape of the new services we need to provide will not be known until our consultations have been completed.”
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