Welcome to the Midlands Cancer Alliances Life Science Hub
Together, we drive improvement in cancer care – enabling collaboration between the NHS and industry to turn bold ideas into real-world impact for patients and communities.
Our Objectives
Focus improvement where it matters most - improving outcomes for our population and transforming how cancer care is delivered.
Unlock collaborative investment to accelerate projects with the power to spread and succeed across the system.
Show tangible results through measurable improvements in quality, value, outcomes, and experience.
Embed improvement at scale, harnessing the collective strength of commissioning, improvement, and transformation partners.
Create a learning culture without barriers - a safe space to test, learn, and share what works, inspiring others to join the journey.
Our Approach
The Hub will deliver a programme of projects for Cancer Alliance stakeholders, formulated in close collaboration with industry partners and clinical teams.
These projects are not intended to replace the core functions of the NHS; rather, they are designed to test new ways of working or scale up proven interventions across the region.
Any project selected for collaboration must meet our rigorous assurance criteria, ensuring alignment with NHS priorities and the potential for measurable impact.
Key Priorities and Challenges we are working on
- The referral and pathway management process faces challenges such as delays, fragmented coordination, and poor digital integration, which can lead to late-stage presentations and uneven referral experiences. To address these, capabilities like rapid diagnostic models, standardised referral criteria, and shared digital tools are recommended, with fast starts focusing on protecting urgent slots and improving data completeness.
- Diagnostic and treatment stages are hindered by bottlenecks in imaging, pathology, and treatment capacity, as well as delays in result turnaround that affect multidisciplinary team (MDT) decisions. Optimising capacity, improving scheduling, and streamlining MDT processes are key capabilities, while early wins include pooling slots and aligning turnaround times with MDT schedules.
- Follow-up care is often fragmented, with inconsistent use of personalised and remote monitoring, limited rehabilitation, and variable guideline adherence. Scaling remote monitoring, integrating patient- reported outcomes, and standardising rehabilitation pathways are crucial, supported by workforce upskilling and digital integration to ensure better patient experience and adherence to follow-up criteria.
