Our projects.
The Trustees have a good working relationship with the Cancer Unit’s consultants and nursing staff and it is from them that new projects will be suggested. It constantly surprises me the ingenuity of some of the items of equipment which we are asked to support.
Many of these items achieve huge gains for the patients, both in terms of the quality of the diagnosis or treatment and its effectiveness and also in reducing the length of time that these treatments take which can then of course have an impact on reducing waiting times.
Selection of projects
The Trustees receive requests for funding from various consultants and other medical staff involved in cancer treatments.
We have a very detailed Funding Application form which has to be completed by the applicant and be countersigned by two senior members of the RUH administration. They confirm that if the equipment is funded by us that it will be supported and has a location in the RUH from which it can operate.
Frequently we have more applications than we can fund. Thus each request is reviewed in detail by the Trustees and appropriate questions are sent back to the medical staff, before any decision is made by the Trustees.
Equipment for SACT at Frome Medical Centre
SACT is any drug treatment used to control or treat cancer. The drug treatment types may include chemotherapy, immunotherapy, targeted therapy, hormonal therapy or a combination of these. SACT can be given on its own, before or after surgery or with radiotherapy.
Frome Medical Centre is to be used as a community SACT outreach facility for low complexity treatments these types – this excludes those requiring radiotherapy The staff administering SACT in Frome will rotate between RUH Dyson Cancer Centre and the service will comply with national standards for administration of SACT.
The improvements seen by patients will be:
Treatment closer to home (for those receiving low complex treatments) administered by the same staff who care for them at the Dyson Cancer Centre
- Reduced travel time and no parking fees
- Increased capacity at the Dyson Cancer Centre for patients receiving complex treatment regimens
- Shorter interval between referral for treatment and commencing treatment
To provide this service in Frome, BCUSG will fund
- a limited amount of refurbishment to the two treatment rooms enabling up to five patients to be treated at one time.
- BCUSG will also provide all the necessary hardware including hospital furniture, computer, fridge and all the specialist nursing equipment required for SACT.
Funds required £63,557
Three Omniboards and three Respiratory Suppression Belts
Patient immobilisation for accurate positioning is a vital aspect of radiation therapy as it ensures accurate delivery of treatment to the tumour site whilst minimising dose to healthy tissue. With increased technical advances immobilisation may also allow reduction to treatment margins around the treatment target, again resulting in less dose to normal tissue, minimising side effects and potential increase in dose to the target improving cure rates.
As radiotherapy planning techniques advance immobilisation equipment also develops to ensure that we can maintain positional accuracies to within 5mm. We need to be able to immobilise any area of the body. It is important to ensure that the patient is comfortable so that he/she can remain still throughout the procedure.
The Omniboard is a cost effective all in one positioning system. It can remain on the treatment couch throughout the day, eliminating the need for staff to lift heavy, stand- alone equipment. The detachable positioning aids can be easily swapped for each individual patient’s set up resulting in an efficient transition between patients and minimising delays. It is versatile, allowing adjustments to foot and hand grips and support for back and bottom to maximise patient comfort and stability.
The Omniboard is lightweight and can be easily stored against a wall when not in use.
The Respiratory Compression Belt is designed to apply pressure to the abdomen and restrict tumour movement during breathing. It can be used alongside the Omniboard. Currently patients that require equipment to minimise tumour movement have to be referred to Bristol Oncology Centre for their planning and treatment.
The total cost is £112,695.
Current project - Paediatric Oncology Nursing Associate, 12 hours per week.
This is a pilot post for 1 year.
The paediatric oncology team currently have 1.48 whole time equivalent paediatric oncology outreach nursing support.
These specialist nurses visit paediatric patients at home or school every week to obtain monitoring blood counts and use the results to adjust treatment doses on a weekly basis.
Their patients on active treatment are spread over a wide geographical area and this takes a lot of time but helps them maintain their education during long treatments (e.g. 2 plus years for acute leukaemia). They also have a commitment to the Children’s ward to provide training and support in chemotherapy delivery to nursing staff and support with accessing devices such as portacaths.
We are funding an extra role for a member of staff who could do some of these routine visits each week to free up specialist nursing time. This will greatly improve staff education and morale on the ward. It will also allow the paediatric oncology team time to develop their service. For example with implementing the National Low Risk Neutropaenic Fever guidance which allows early discharge of some patients, improving patient experience and bed flow. This process will require more specialist time as the team will need to contact these patients by phone every day and document their status.
The development of this role is intended to greatly improve patient and family experience during their prolonged treatment, as well as enabling service development.
Our past projects
As at April 2024 a total of almost £6 million has been raised and used to purchase the following items:
•2024 – MVision Artificial Intelligence (AI) Auto-contouring software. £74,504
AI auto-contouring is a process where software algorithms are used to automatically identify and outline healthy tissues in medical images, such as CT or MRI scans. This technology can help clinical oncologists to create accurate treatment plans by providing precise contours of the surrounding healthy organs in order to limit the radiotherapy dose to these.
AI auto-contouring therefore reduces the amount of time that clinical oncologists need to spend
planning radiotherapy, liberating more time to be spent with patients to discuss and agree their
personalised treatment plan and supervise its delivery.
The Richard Oatley Foundation
We are delighted to have received a donation from the above Foundation to fund the acquisition of the AI Auto Contouring Software. A contribution is also being raised by one of the surgeons, Stuart Gillett who is competing in a Deca-ironman event in Mexico and is raising sponsorship with a target of £15,000. (Update: he actually raised £25,218!)
The Richard Oatley Foundation is a charitable trust very generously set up by the late Richard Oatley who was a farmer in Rode near Frome. He intended that a number of local charities in Somerset and Wiltshire supporting issues close to his heart, should benefit from this fund. One of the causes he wished to support was cancer research and patient support. The Trustees considered our application for funding of this project and approved a grant to cover the full cost.
The Trustees of that Foundation have also very kindly offered to match fund the Sportsman’s Dinner being run by the Lions Club of Frome on 1 February 2024 up to a maximum of £15,000.
Paxman Inner Silicone Cap
Paxman Cold Cap
•2024 – Paxman Scalp Coolers. Cost for 8 Coolers £126,869.
Hair loss (Alopecia) is a common and distressing side effect of chemotherapy treatment.
Scalp cooling is a method of minimising chemotherapy induced hair loss. It works by inducing vasoconstriction and reduction of metabolism. Vasoconstriction leads to reduced blood flow to the hair follicles during the peak period for peak plasma concentration of chemotherapy agents being administered.
It is estimated that the blood flow is reduced to 20 – 40% of the normal rate through scalp cooling. The reduction in metabolism makes the hair follicles less susceptible to damage caused by the chemotherapy agent.
•2024 – two Surface Guided Radiotherapy systems
To raise £580,000 in order to purchase two Surface Guided Radiotherapy (SGRT) systems for the new cancer centre being built at the RUH.
SGRT reduces the risk to adjoining tissue such as the heart, lungs or brain if the patient moves during radiotherapy. The equipment switches off automatically if the patient moves at all.
SGRT also avoids the need for positioning tattoos and there is much less manual handling of the patient when getting them into the correct position for treatment and in the case of head & neck patients an open face mask can be used rather than a closed one therefore providing a much less claustrophobic experience.
•2023 – Two Airgloves
The Airglove is an air warming system to improve access to veins prior to administration of drugs such as chemotherapy. It consists of a heating unit and tube containing a heat outlet, and single-use disposable double-walled polythene ‘gloves’. The glove is placed on the tube and over the forearm; the glove seals on the forearm and heats it using warm air. Heating the limb prior to attempting cannulation dilates the veins and makes cannulation easier and more comfortable for the patient and results in a high percentage achieving a positive outcome on the first attempt.
The purchase of the Airgloves was funded by generous donations from a former patient and our longstanding supporters. (£2,000)
•2020 – An upgraded Solid– State Gamma Camera. The NHS funded a standard model. BCUSG added an additional £340K, enabling a more advanced model to be purchased. The first of its type to be installed in the UK.
•2019 – Two Real Time Position Management Respiratory Gating Systems (£62K)
•2019 – Out of Hours Helpline for chemotherapy outpatients (£68K)
•2019 – Development of a Quiet Room for families of patients with palliative end of life care needs (£14,318)
•2019 – A trial of the Clinical and Cost Effectiveness of Low Level Laser in the management of oral mucositis in head and neck irridation (£4,150)
•2017 – Additional equipment for the Positron Scanner (£90K)
•2016 – The first fixed site Positron (PET-CT) Scanner Unit in an NHS hospital in the West Country together with Wall & Ceiling Art (£1.2M)
As usual the project attracted support from all ages.
•2012 – New work station to allow radiologists to assess images from a new mobile scanner
•2012 – A grant to the charity ‘Positive Action on Cancer’ which provides free professional counselling to anyone affected by the condition
•2012 – Specialist high resolution monitors to view mammography images
•2012 – New X-ray equipment to treat patients with skin cancer
•2012 – Software allowing doctors to view cancer scan images from more computer terminals
•2012 – Five patient and three chemotherapy trolleys
•2011 – Funding an enhanced digital mammography facility
•2011 – Refurbishing a quiet room in the Uro Oncology Dept
•2010 – Purchasing Terarecon Client Image manipulation software
•2010 – Replacing the superficial X-ray treatment unit.
This year was the 25th anniversary of Bath Cancer Unit Support Group, and the then Duchess of Cornwall congratulated BCUSG on it’s work in support of the Cancer Unit.
•2012 – New work station to allow radiologists to assess images from a new mobile scanner
•2012 – A grant to the charity ‘Positive Action on Cancer’ which provides free professional counselling to anyone affected by the condition
•2012 – Specialist high resolution monitors to view mammography images
•2012 – New X-ray equipment to treat patients with skin cancer
•2012 – Software allowing doctors to view cancer scan images from more computer terminals
•2012 – Five patient and three chemotherapy trolleys
•2011 – Funding an enhanced digital mammography facility
•2011 – Refurbishing a quiet room in the Uro Oncology Dept
•2010 – Purchasing Terarecon Client Image manipulation software
•2010 – Replacing the superficial X-ray treatment unit
•2009 – Constructing a quiet room where diagnoses can be discussed
•2008 – Additional patients toilets
•2006 – Setting up a Cancer Information Centre
•2004 – Providing the radioactive ‘seeds’ at the start of the Prostrate Brachytherapy service
•2003 – New day treatment unit
•2000 – Purchasing a second Linear Accelerator
•1998 – Relocating the cytology (cervical smear) laboratory
•1994 – A day treatment centre for chemotherapy patients
•1991 – Refurbishing the Oncology reception & waiting areas
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