"Cancer nursing is in crisis", according to leading charity Macmillan, but it has a £1.7m plan to recruit new specialists in the North East and to help look after patients going through some of the most stressful diagnoses imaginable.
To tackle what it calls a "huge shortage" of cancer nurses in our region, the charity has launched a "workforce development programme" to attract new recruits. This will see 16 jobs created across the North East - including two at the Northumbria Healthcare NHS Trust - which will last for two years and prepare nurses to be fully-fledged cancer specialists at the end of their term.
The roles include shadowing, the opportunity to build up academic skills and to take on research. Northumbria Healthcare's lead cancer nurse Amanda Walshe said she was excited for the new project - which would help create a pipeline of nursing talent. Traditionally, cancer nurse specialists stay in post for many years, which can mean knowledge and experience is lost when they retire - and nationally around one in three specialist nurses are approaching retirement, Macmillan said.
