Bowel Cancer UK is the UK’s leading bowel cancer charity. They provide expert information and support to patients and their families, educate health professionals and the public about the disease, campaign for early diagnosis and access to the best treatment and care, and fund targeted research.
Funding was provided to support the charity recover from the Covid-19 pandemic, thereby retaining and developing much needed services and support. This funding period has allowed Bowel Cancer UK to establish a sustainable model to move forward with support services for patients and professionals in Wales.
During the funding period (Apr 21 - Mar 24) they:
- Developed the highly successful Bowel Cancer Community Voices Cymru.
- Further developed and co-produced support services in Wales for bowel cancer patients and their loved ones.
- Enhanced their education, engagement and support offer to healthcare professionals, including expanding their work engaging with community pharmacies.
- Continued to raise awareness of bowel screening and the signs and symptoms of bowel cancer, growing their volunteer base across Wales to deliver awareness work both online and face-to-face.
Bowel Cancer Community Voices Cymru
Bowel Cancer Community Voices Cymru is for people affected by bowel cancer in Wales and through a range of consultation mechanisms:
- Allows patients an opportunity to safely and confidently share their experiences.
- Provides consultation on both existing services and potential future services (both to Bowel Cancer UK and professionals / services externally)
- Gives patients the opportunity to be involved in the design and delivery of bowel cancer services in Wales.
The group went from strength to strength over the funding period and by March 2024 had 48 members from across all seven health boards, representing a wide range of demographics and experience. They participated in 68 engagement opportunities including leading on patient recruitment for Moondance's consultation for the 'Towards Zero Deaths from Bowel Cancer' work.
You can find our more and register your interest in joining on the Bowel Cancer UK website here.
Collaboration & Co-production
Throughout the pandemic and into 2021, Chat Together sessions brought people together over Zoom to share experiences in a supportive and warm environment. As people began to venture out more however, demand for these sessions fell and Bowel Cancer UK worked with patients to understand what they now wanted from their support services.
By 2023, the team were hearing a strong desire from people to connect with others at a local level, face-to-face. The team reached out to Maggie's and worked with Maggie's Cardiff and the Colorectal CNS's at Velindre to establish a group that met the needs of local patients. The group meets once a month, on a Thursday afternoon for a 90 minute get-together that splits the time into an information session, the topics of which are determined by the patients, followed by time for socialising. This group has gone from strength to strength attracting patients from the immediate area as well as from Powys, Cwm Taf Morgannwg and Aneurin Bevan health boards.
2023 also saw the launch of the Family and Friends Support Hub, a fully co-produced information hub specifically for friends and family members of bowel cancer patients providing a wealth of information across a range of topics.
Volunteers Raising Awareness
Throughout the funding period, Bowel Cancer UK worked to grow their volunteer community within Wales, creating a network of 59 volunteers fulfilling 70 roles, including four Welsh speaking volunteers and the newly developed, GP & Community Pharmacy Volunteers:
Between them, they have:
- Delivered 100 awareness talks and stands, reaching 6,887 people in Wales.
- Made information and awareness raising materials in new locations, including every Job Centre and DWP building in Wales as well at gyms, schools and community buildings.
- Worked hard to reach people in lowest areas of screening uptake including delivering talks at Friday Prayers, running a 'take-over' event at Pontypridd Park Run and engaging with employees at the oil refinery in Clydach, Swansea.
Community Pharmacy Engagement
The Community Pharmacy Toolkit was a hugely successful programme of work, refined and improved over three years, to meet the needs of pharmacists across Wales. Containing bowel cancer awareness materials, a sample bowel screening kit and instructions for demonstration, the kit was ordered by 254 pharmacies, 35% of all pharmacies in Wales, and reached 2,500 pharmacy staff.
The toolkit is now being rolled out across the UK and will be sent to all Morrison's and Asda pharmacies.
