The Covid pandemic has placed an unprecedented amount of pressure on NHS systems, including a loss of surgical capacity.

In response, NHSE has issued guidance across all Alliances to set-up cancer surgery hubswith the aim to maximise the number of patients receiving curative surgery.

In line with NHSE guidance, we have set-up the Wessex Cancer Surgical Hub to:

• Maintain urgent elective cancer surgery during the Covidcrisisfor patients with life-threatening cancer in a Covid-free environment
• Manage the backlog of patients awaiting treatment, as referrals are likely to increase once the acute phase passes

As part of the Wessex Cancer Surgical Hub model, we have:

• Created a process to prioritise and coordinate surgical demandand capacity across Wessex trusts
• Set-up a physical Cancer Hub site (hosted at Spire / UHS) to provide additional Covid-free surgical capacity beyond what is available within trusts

Review this in conjunction with: Equality & Health Inequalities case for establishing the Wessex Cancer Surgical Hub.

Published: July 2020