Project Name: Portsmouth Hospitals University NHS Trust Early Breast Cancer Service Development

Project Summary:

The CWP aims to redesign the CW Partner’s oral systemic anti-cancer therapy (SACT) in early breast cancer (eBC) (the “Service”) patient pathway by the addition of a dedicated new role. A Band 8A independent prescriber will be recruited to provide 24 months of clinical activity in a new early breast cancer( eBC clinic).

The CWP aims to:

  • Increase clinical leadership by leading and managing the Service, ensuring adherence to national and local guidelines and policies.
  • Improve patient care, outcomes and experience by:
    • Having a dedicated single point of contact (SPOC) within the Service, to educate patients in relation to the available oral SACT eBC options available to them and to ensure they are reviewed at the earliest available opportunity and within local and national guidelines.
    • Assessment planning with the patient.
    • Conducting all relevant monitoring required e.g., blood glucose, electrocardiogram (ECG), respiratory, and cardiac function.
    • Where appropriate, the delivery of oral systemic anti-cancer therapies.
    • Provide a single point of contact for the wider clinical team to educate and provide ongoing advice and guidance for oral SACT in eBC
    • Ensure eBC patients are seen, reviewed and treated with the most appropriate treatment as decided by the relevant treating clinician in an efficient and timely manner,  so that all NICE approved treatment options are available to the patient.
  • Increase National Health Service (NHS) employee satisfaction, reducing the risk of NHS workforce burnout by decreasing the eBC clinic burden on the current workforce.
  • This role will assist with the design and delivery of a new eBC clinic, lead on patient education and resources and develop metrics to inform a business case.
  • Work closely with the SACT units, oncology and pharmacy/nursing to increase efficiencies across the service
  • Optimise the integration of each healthcare professional (HCP) skillset within the Service to streamline it and subsequent processes related to it, such as but not limited to multidisciplinary team (MDT) meetings.
  • Gather relevant service metrics to develop a business case for the sustainability of the new workforce role beyond the scope of this project.

The CWP will run for 36 months with 24 months of clinical activity. 

  • Develop a new model of care for patients with eBC by optimising the current patient pathway.
  • Increase the outpatient clinic appointments to encompass eBC.

This new model of care will provide 16 additional eBC clinics per month supporting 1040 patients in year 1 and 1240 in year 2, a total of 2280 over the length of the project.

Expected Benefits: 

Benefits to NHS

  • Increase the overall quality of care and improve equity of access to specialist care for patients with BC requiring treatment initiation, evaluation, and monitoring.
  • Provision of subject matter expertise to educate other members of the clinical team on treatment options.
  • Provide a single point of contact for patients, thereby reducing the potential for unplanned calls being received by the wider clinical team.
  • Free up consultant capacity for clinical activities that are unique to their skillset.
  • CWP would highlight the trust as an exemplar site for service development.

Benefits for Patients

  • Increased access to equitable and consistent and standardised care.
  • single point of contact for patients receiving oral SACT to ensure more personalised care.
  • Increased access to education on BC and treatments to improve adherence and consequently improve patients' outcomes, supported by a personalised care plan.
  • Improved access to oral SACT education/information.
  • Improved patient satisfaction and reduced waiting time (to access overbooked clinics).
  • Reduced patient in person attendances.
  • Reduce unplanned medical reviews and admissions.

Benefits for Novartis

  • Better understanding of overall HCP and patient need.
  • Optimal use of medicines in line with local/national guidance (including Novartis medicines) in appropriate patients.
  • Ethical, professional, and transparent relationship between Novartis and the Healthcare Organisation.

Start Date & Duration: Start date October 2025, duration of CWP 36 months, including 24 months of clinical activity.

FA-11523746 | October 2025