We have set out clear, specific ambitions that we commit to in partnership with Dorset and Hampshire and Isle of Wight Integrated Care Systems, and in support of the recently published 10-year Health Plan and the subsequent National Cancer Plan, expected later this year.

We are aligned in our vision for cancer services, shared by all partners in Wessex, to improve the health of everyone living in Wessex, so that people can live healthy lives for longer, and to reduce the gap in healthy life expectancy between the most and least healthy.

We will hold ourselves to account firstly through publishing our ambitions and then by measuring our progress against them.

We will assess the impact of each of the interventions for equity of access, experience, and outcome.

Our ambitions are set out against the stages of a cancer journey, as experienced by patients and their families. From Prevention and Earlier Diagnosis, through Diagnosing and Treating Cancer and then how we envisage Planning and Delivery of services in the future. Finally, we look to opportunities across all the care pathways to make the most of new research, developments in medicine and improvements in care.

We will deliver our strategy through the lens of the Joint Forward Plan for Dorset and the HIoW Clinical Framework, both of which set out a path to proactive and preventative care, a person centred approach, being driven by clinical outcomes and data.

We look forward to working with you to support this collaborative approach to a single strategy for cancer services across Wessex and remain grateful for your ongoing support.