In this video, Professor Donald Milligan, Network Medical Director gives a short overview of the background and purpose of the Network.

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Pan Birmingham Cancer Network is a non statutory organisation that works on behalf of commissioners, providers and patients to improve the outcomes and quality of cancer services. This is achieved by bringing together a range of organisations; those who provide services, as well as those who fund them, with clinicians and patients, to plan, commission and monitor cancer services.

The team offers expertise in developing strategy, improving and managing performance and in identifying opportunities to improve patient experience and quality.

The Pan Birmingham Cancer Network has been established to improve the quality of cancer services, patient experience and co-ordination of the patient journey between primary, secondary, tertiary and voluntary providers. Our Network also works in partnership to improve cancer outcomes by promoting strategies to improve awareness of prevention, early detection and diagnosis.
Its core objectives are to:

• Work with providers and commissioners to improve cancer outcomes and quality of cancer services.
• Engage patients and users in planning and developing services and to monitor and improve patient satisfaction.
• Work with clinicians to set standards and ensure best practice is delivered consistently across all providers.
• Agree common protocols and service patterns to tackle variations and make best use of resources available. 
• Develop all aspects of local cancer services: prevention, screening, diagnosis, treatment, supportive and specialist palliative care. 
• Develop multi-disciplinary teams and make arrangements to ensure that all patients are reviewed by them prior to treatment.  
• Develop workforce education, training and facility strategies.

Cancer Networks were established in response to the publication of the Policy Framework for Commissioning Cancer Services in 1995, the Calman-Hine Report (1995) and the subsequent NHS Cancer Plan (2000). Click here to access other Cancer Networks' websites and a map of the Cancer Networks in England.

The Calman Hine report outlined radical reform of the UK’s cancer services with the aim of improving outcomes and reducing inequalities in NHS cancer care. Its main recommendation was to concentrate care into smaller surgical centers and site specialist multidisciplinary teams.

The NHS Cancer plan 2000 outlined a 10-year programme to improve cancer services and outcomes, with targets, actions and milestones to be achieved by 2010. It aimed to save more lives; ensure people with cancer got the right professional support and care as well as the best treatment; tackle inequalities in health; and build for the future through investment in cancer workforce, stronger research and preparation for the genetic revolution so that the NHS never falls behind in cancer again.

The Cancer Reform Strategy (CRS), 2007, was a five year plan that set out the next phase of the government’s commitment to delivery of world class cancer services. Building on the progress made since the NHS Cancer Plan by spreading best practice and recommending what needed to be done by Cancer Networks and the NHS to improve clinical outcomes, drive up quality and increase value for money. The CRS set out a programme for action across 10 areas, six areas of action to improve outcomes (including the introduction of the National Awareness and Early Diagnosis Initiative and Cancer Survivorship programmes) and four areas of action to ensure delivery which were linked to world class commissioning.

In January 2011, the Coalition Government published ‘Improving Outcomes: A Strategy for Cancer’. This strategy has built strongly upon a recent report by the NAO on the implementation of the CRS. This looked at the use of information and commissioning to deliver the CRS, and at value for money in the delivery of cancer services. The strategy sets out the actions to be taken to tackle the preventable causes of cancer, by providing better information to people about risk factors and how individuals and communities might work to minimise them, as well as the steps that need to be taken to improve the experience of cancer patients and support the increasing number of cancer survivors.

Throughout the various NHS reorganisations and strategies the consistent theme behind Networks requires that their constituent organisations have a duty of partnership to work together effectively to improve cancer services for the benefit of patients.

The Network Board brings together commissioners, users and providers of cancer services to plan, develop and improve the quality of cancer services and survival outcomes.

The Network has organised itself into a number of key groups and committees which all report to the Network Board. The structure is shown below.

The Network Board meets between five and six times a year and receives regular reports from the Commissioning Group, Governance Committee and Network Site Specific Groups (NSSGs). It is important that the Network Board is able to make decisions and that these are supported and implemented by Primary Care Trusts (PCTs) and providers. The Network’s PCTs are represented by a PCT Chief Executive or a designated executive who has the authority to make decisions on behalf of other PCT Chief Executives.

Providers are represented by their Chief Executive Officer or a nominated executive with responsibility for cancer services. Membership of the Network Board also includes clinicians, users and others with an interest in public health. For a complete list of members, please see the Network Board terms of reference.

The Network Governance Committee usually meets five times a year. This group has delegated authority for reviewing and monitoring service quality, patient satisfaction and survival outcomes. In addition the Governance Committee is responsible for quality assuring all clinical guidelines and patient information developed by the Network. The Governance Committee is responsible for maintaining the Network’s risk register and raising concerns on behalf of the Network Board. For a complete list of members, please see the Network Governance Committee terms of reference.

The Network Commissioning Group also meets between five and six times a year. This committee has representation from each of the commissioning organisations and is the forum where collective commissioning decisions are made in order to ensure there is consistency in the contracting arrangements with providers. This group receives reports from the Governance and where necessary will take action through the contracting processes to address concerns. This group is also responsible for agreeing investments for new services, agreeing service specifications for existing services and additions to the Network drugs formulary. For a complete list of members, please see the Network Commissioning Group terms of reference.

The Network has a number of NSSGs and cross cutting groups which bring together clinicians, managers and patients to plan, review and monitor the quality of services. These groups are responsible for agreeing treatment guidelines and patient information, developing care pathways and redesigning services that meet national standards. For the terms of reference, work programme and guidelines for each group please click here.