Project Name: NHS Lothian Breast Cancer Service Collaborative Working Project

Project Summary: 

The Collaborative Working Project with the Western General Hospital Oncology Department, part of NHS Lothian, is designed to address breast cancer (“BC”) resource capacity challenges through additional roles being engaged by the Collaborator as part of the breast cancer service (namely a Clinical Fellow and Data Analyst), with the aim of enabling the following:

  • Support BC resource capacity through the recruitment by the Collaborator of an additional Clinical Fellow and Data Analyst.
  • Alleviate capacity constraints by enhancing monitoring and diagnostics capabilities within the Cancer Assessment Unit (“CAU”).
  • The Clinical Fellow will enable NHS Lothian BC service to pilot new models of care to enhance patient follow-up and service sustainability post project conclusion.
  • Map patient pathways across the South-East Cancer Network (SCAN) to understand resource gaps and ensure a streamlined flow of early breast cancer (“eBC”) patients as well as service efficiency for patient follow ups.
  • Provide a Service Efficient Report on new service models through the Data Analyst’s insights and analytics.
  • Record and evaluate patient satisfaction with the service.
  • Share insights and best practices at national and international levels. 

Expected Benefits: 

Anticipated Benefits for Patients:

  • Improved patient access and experience.
  • Support earlier diagnosis and treatment decisions.
  • Improvement in waiting times, particularly in the CAU.
  • Increased patient access to education about BC and treatment options.
  • Opportunity to be seen by various members of the MDT in new service models.
  • Increased access to BC treatments to potentially improve patient outcomes.

Anticipated Benefits for the Organisation(s):

  • Strengthen workforce capacity and capabilities.
  • Foster a sustainable model for delivering innovative therapies across NHS Lothian.
  • Increase in capacity across the oncology department and services, to support in the metastatic and eBC treatment initiation, evaluation, and monitoring.
  • Service improvements through streamlined and more efficient service through new models of care post conclusion of CWP.
  • Understanding of gap service analysis across SCAN.
  • Opportunity to present best practice through new service models across other breast cancer services.
  • Research paper and Service Efficiency Report.
  • Opportunity to analyse, share, and act upon patient satisfaction survey results.

Anticipated Benefits for Novartis:

  • Ethical, professional, and transparent relationship between Novartis and the Healthcare Organisations.
  • Enhanced reputation supporting Novartis’ vision to provide high quality Collaborative Working with healthcare organisations, to help address some of the issues surrounding health inequalities.
  • Further opportunities for the appropriate use of Breast Cancer licensed medicines, including Novartis’ medicines.
  • An increased understanding and insights generated by the care pathway mapping.

Start Date & Expected Duration: February 2026, 30 months

FA-11592652 | January 2026