The Active Against Cancer Team from Harrogate & District NHS Foundation Trust won the NHS Parliamentary award for Excellence in Health Care for North and East Yorkshire, and was highly commended for their work at the national final in Westminster earlier his month
The Team is one of the first in the country to prescribe and deliver personalised exercise programmes to cancer patients before, during and after treatment. The service, which opened in July 2019, has supported close to a thousand patients within its first two years of opening.
Donna, a patient who the Team have worked with through the pandemic, said:
“Lockdown increased my sense of isolation, and my anxiety levels were very high. The one thing that helped me during this time was attending the Active Against Cancer sessions.
Not only did I get the positive benefits of taking regular exercise, but I also got to interact safely with people in the same situation.”
“I had face to face contact with the staff who offered invaluable advice, reassurance and support. I genuinely don’t think I could have got through those long months without the help of Active Against Cancer and the wonderful staff there.”
Emma Radcliffe, Lead Cancer Manager, collected the award at the ceremony in Westminster on the 7 July 2021. She said:
“I was delighted to be able to accept this Excellence in Healthcare award on behalf of the whole Active Against Cancer Team.
“COVID-19 has reinforced the importance of health and wellbeing for many, and we know this is particularly important for those undergoing cancer treatment.
“In the two years since opening, Active Against Cancer has been hugely successful in supporting patients to be physically active and make positive health choices before, during and after cancer treatment.
“It is the first of its kind in the country to do so, and we are so please that this pioneering work has been recognised in this way. We hope to see more services of this kind launching over the coming years.”
See more details about the Parliamentary Awards and their shortlist here: http://nhsparliamentaryawards.co.uk/shortlist
ENDS
For further information please contact:
Greg Dawson, Communications and Marketing Assistant, [email protected] and 01423 557732.