Project Name: Novartis Re-imagining Care Pathways Collaborative Working Project (“NRCP CWP”) for the Neuroendocrine Tumours Service
Project Summary:
The Reimagining Care Pathways CWP is a service offered by Novartis, which comprises a series of workshops, with the aim of providing pathway mapping support to the CW Partner to:
- Identify potential service inefficiencies and service bottlenecks. Optimisation of these areas by the CWP will lead to improved patient care, improve efficiency and service effectiveness.
- Address the challenges in the delivery of patient care.
The programme facilitates area teams (Trust or ICS) to identify areas for optimisation within their Neuroendocrine Tumour service. The programme will be carried out in a number of different institutions. The service is facilitated by the Novartis Service Development Manager (SDM) Team.
Planned Milestones:
Milestone 1: Agree on the scope of the NRCP CWP
Milestone 2: Mapping the Pathway; 1-1 interviews
Milestone 3: Mapping the pathway workshop
Milestone 4: Feedback/consultation with NHS post workshop
Expected Benefits:
ANTICIPATED BENEFITS FOR PATIENTS
- Improvement of clinical pathways which may result in potentially fewer visits and shorter waiting times due to a more efficient clinical pathway
- Faster and more equitable access to the complete range of NICE approved treatment options.
- Quality care improvements aligned to established best practices
ANTICIPATED BENEFITS FOR THE ORGANISATION(S)
- Improved understanding of the current service pathway, and associated efficiencies and inefficiencies. Potential to lead to solutions which could allow the CW Partner’s organisation to enhance both patient experience and outcomes.
ANTICIPATED BENEFITS FOR NOVARTIS
- Understanding of possible opportunities to partner with the CW Partner to enhance patient outcomes and experience. Better understanding of patients,’ carers and customers’ needs, which may inform future service offerings, and synergies between needs of the customer and value of Novartis offerings.
Start Date & Duration: May 2025, 14 weeks
FA-11392276 | May 2025
Project Name: Novartis Re‑imagining Care Pathways Collaborative Working Project (“NRCP CWP”) – Neuroendocrine Tumour (NET) Service, East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust (ESNEFT)
Organisation(s): East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust (“CW Partner”)
Completion Date: March 2026
Outcomes Summary:
This Collaborative Working Project between East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust and Novartis Pharmaceuticals UK Limited was undertaken to support a structured review of the Neuroendocrine Tumour (NET) care pathway across the Trust’s Colchester and Ipswich hospital sites.
As set out in the Project Initiation Document (PID), the objective of the project was to improve understanding of the existing service pathway, identify areas of inefficiency or variation, and highlight opportunities that may support service effectiveness and patient experience.
Due to clinical capacity pressures, the originally anticipated programme of one to one interviews and a multidisciplinary pathway mapping workshop was not undertaken. Instead, the project was delivered through facilitated group based pathway review discussions and subsequent validation meetings with nominated clinical and service leads. This approach was agreed by both partners and enabled collective review and confirmation of pathway findings.
The outputs of the project are descriptive and analytical in nature and are intended to support the CW Partner’s internal service review and planning discussions. Responsibility for any decisions relating to service change or implementation remains solely with East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust.
Key Project Outcomes Data:
Facilitated group‑based pathway review discussions were conducted with multidisciplinary stakeholders involved in the delivery and coordination of NET services across East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust, representing both Colchester and Ipswich hospital sites. Engagement focused on describing the current end‑to‑end NET pathway, including referral routes, diagnostic processes, MDT discussion, treatment delivery interfaces, follow‑up arrangements and cross‑site working practices.
Validation discussions with nominated clinical and service leads were undertaken following initial pathway review activity to confirm accuracy of the pathway representation, agree key system‑level themes, and ensure findings reflected current practice across the Trust.
The project produced a consolidated overview of the existing NET pathway, identifying areas of pathway consistency as well as variation between sites, including differences in specialist resource availability, service interfaces and patient navigation complexity.
System‑level constraints and enablers affecting service efficiency and patient experience were described, supporting the PID objective of improving organisational understanding of the current pathway.
All outputs were descriptive and analytical in nature and were developed to support internal service reflection and planning, with no recommendations for implementation or service change made by Novartis.
Outcomes:
The project supported ESNEFT in developing a shared understanding of how patients currently move through the NET pathway across both hospital sites. Stakeholders identified areas of good practice within existing services, alongside challenges that may contribute to variation in patient experience and operational efficiency.
Key themes included differences in specialist capacity across sites, complexity in pathway navigation for patients receiving care across multiple settings, and challenges associated with coordination of care and communication between services. These findings align with the anticipated benefits set out in the PID, particularly improved organisational understanding of the current pathway and identification of opportunities to consider greater alignment and consistency.
The outcomes provide a structured evidence base to support internal discussion and prioritisation by the Trust.
Conclusion:
This Collaborative Working Project met its stated objectives by supporting ESNEFT to review and describe the current NET care pathway, identify areas of variation and constraint, and highlight opportunities that may inform future service development.
The outcomes are directly aligned with the expected benefits defined in the PID, including improved understanding of the existing service pathway and identification of opportunities to enhance service effectiveness and patient experience. Novartis’ role was limited to facilitation of discussions and collation of insights in accordance with the agreed collaborative working scope. Any subsequent action or implementation remains the responsibility of East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust.
FA-11680378 | May 2026