A Holistic Needs Assessment (HNA) is a simple survey. It helps your cancer team to learn about your needs and concerns. It tells them ‘what matters most’ to you. This will help them to support you in the right way.
Our cancer teams offer a HNA to everyone at the time of cancer diagnosis. However, anyone with cancer can have a HNA at any point during their care.
At Bradford, cancer teams use the Macmillan My Care Plan – Concerns Checklist HNA. You can fill this out online or on paper with your cancer nursing team. It takes about 10 minutes to do.
After the survey, the cancer nursing team will arrange a phone-call appointment with you. During this appointment, the cancer nursing team will discuss with you your concerns. They will discuss options for support and agree a support plan with you. The support plan is also known as a Personalised Care Support Plan (PCSP).
Your cancer team will send you and your GP a copy of your PCSP.
Find out more about Holistic Needs Assessments in the links below.
Macmillan Holistic Needs Assessments – https://macmillan.org.uk/healthcare-professionals/innovation-in-cancer-care/holistic-needs-assessment
Macmillan My Care Plan – https://mycareplan.co.uk/ehna
End of Treatment Summaries
The End of Treatment summary is a report created by the cancer team. The cancer team complete the report when you have finished your cancer treatment. They will share a copy of the report with you and your GP.
The report gives a summary of the cancer diagnosis, treatment and potential side effects. It gives advice about signs of disease recurrence and contact details to discuss concerns. It informs you and your GP about your cancer and how to stay well.
Health and Wellbeing Information and Support
Health and Wellbeing information and support is important. It helps people to live well and stay well following their cancer. Health and wellbeing information and support helps people to manage their health. It gives people access to the right advice and support when they need it. In doing so, it empowers people to make healthy lifestyle choices.
Our Cancer teams work closely with the Cancer Support Yorkshire centre. Together, they offer ongoing Health and Wellbeing information and support. You can access this at any point in your care.
In Bradford, Health and Wellbeing information and support includes emotional, practical and financial support. This can be in the form of counselling, support groups and wellbeing therapies. They also offer financial and welfare support such as returning to work. The teams can link you to other charities or groups that offer specialist support.
Find out more about Health and Wellbeing Information and support in the links below.
Cancer Support Yorkshire
Additional Support
Prehabilitation and Living Well
Prehabilitation is a health programme that supports people to improve their health and fitness. This helps them to recover sooner from their cancer treatments with fewer problems. It can also reduce the risk of the cancer returning in the future.
Small changes like becoming more active and eating healthy foods can all help.
Stopping or reducing smoking and the amount of alcohol you drink also improves health. We know this can be difficult to do without support.
Bradford cancer services are working with Bradford Living Well to offer a prehabilitation programme. The programme provides support to help you achieve lifestyle changes and improve health. The programme is still a trial and is not yet open to everyone. Your cancer team will advise you if you can access the prehabilitation programme. If not, they can still arrange other support to help you live well.
Find out more about Prehabilitation and living well in the link below.
More information on prehabilitation at Bradford Teaching Hospitals
Living Well • Bradford District
Personalised Care and Support Planning (PCSP)
Personalised care and support planning involves you and your cancer team creating a support plan together. This support plan addresses your needs and concerns. It helps you to have choice and control over your cancer care and wellbeing.
Your personalised care support plan (PCSP) is unique to you and your needs. It may include support for different types of needs. These include practical tasks, emotional needs or financial needs. It may also include advice to help you make healthy lifestyle choices.
The PCSP includes links connecting you to online advice or local groups and services. Your cancer team will discuss these with you first. This makes sure they are right for you and your needs. Your cancer team will send you and your GP a copy of your PCSP.
Cancer Care Reviews
This is a planned discussion between you and your GP or primary care nurse. It is a chance to talk about your cancer and any concerns you have. The Cancer Care Review aims to give you advice to help you self-manage. It can also connect you to local support in your area. The Cancer Care review normally happens between 3-12 months after cancer diagnosis.
Personalised Stratified Follow-up (PSFU)
Once treatment has finished, your cancer team will discuss a follow-up plan with you. This may involve regular follow-up appointments and surveillance scans. Follow-up checks you are well and there is no sign of the cancer returning (recurrence). It is also a chance to offer support for any long-term effects of treatment. The team will make sure you have easy access back into the service. They will give you direct contact numbers for if you have any concerns.
For certain cancers, some people will have a Personalised Stratified Follow Up (PSFU) plan. This is when the risk of the cancer returning determines how regular follow-up should be. The clinical team will decide your risk of the cancer returning. Based on this risk, PSFU advises how often you need to attend for follow-up. The cancer team will discuss this with you when you have finished your treatment.
PSFU aims to offer better care for people when they finish cancer treatment. It includes a further Holistic Needs Assessment (HNA) on completing treatment. Through the HNA people receive information and support to be able to self-manage. This includes the signs and symptoms of cancer recurrence and guidelines for action. They may attend remote surveillance tests and have direct re-access to the cancer team.
