People affected by cancer are helping to shape the future of cancer care across South Tyneside and Sunderland.
Patients, carers, community representatives and staff from South Tyneside and Sunderland NHS Foundation Trust came together to share their experiences and ideas for improving services.
This will help shape how the Trust continues to improve cancer care, ensuring future services reflect the needs of patients, families and local communities.
The session looked at three key areas: getting the basics right, what matters most to them and planning for the future.
Discussions focused on improving the patient experience, supporting earlier diagnoses, reducing health inequalities, personalised care and making sure services are sustainable for the future.
The team who led the talks at Sunderland Bangladesh International Centre (SBIC) said it has helped challenge them to think beyond a single service and to instead think about the wider impact on families and communities.
Amy Johnstone is the Trustβs Head of Cancer Services.
She said:
We are incredibly grateful to everyone who gave their time to participate.
We would like to thank all of those who took part for their valuable contribution and ongoing support as we continue to improve cancer services together.
The passion, honesty and expertise shared during the session reinforced the importance of designing services with people rather than for people.
The conversations will directly influence the development of cancer care for people in South Tyneside and Sunderland. They will help ensure it reflects what matters most to our patients, families and communities.
Kelly Murphy was at the session. Her brother was treated by STSFT following his cancer diagnosis.
She said:
I was honoured to be invited to take part on behalf of my brother who had Downβs syndrome and lost his battle with cancer three years ago.
I hope this will help to improve future cancer services for those with additional needs and their families, with a view to carers consistently being seen as partners in care not simply visitors.
Nahida Aktar, the Health and Wellbeing Lead for SBIC, also attended.
She said:
It was a really valuable session and we appreciate the opportunity to bring people together in a trusted community setting. We look forward to building on the discussion and continuing this work in partnership with the Trust.
At SBIC, we believe the voices of our diverse communities must be at the heart of designing future health services. Faith, culture, language and lived experience all shape how people understand cancer, access support and make decisions about their care.
The information gathered from the session will now be used to tailor further improvements for people who experience cancer care at the Trust.
The feedback is one of the ways patients and their loved ones have been able to help the Trust develop its cancer care. The latest National Cancer Patient Experience Survey for 2025 showed patients scored it 9 out of 10. This is above the national NHS average and in the top 35% of all Trusts nationally.
The Trust was second in overall performance in the Northern Cancer Alliance (NCPES).
The Trust hosts a Cancer Information Hub on its website. This offers help and advice to anyone who needs. It can be found here: Cancer Information Hub
