The thoracic surgical service at University Hospitals Tees have been crowned winners of the quality improvement and innovation award at the Northern Cancer Alliance Awards 2025.
They were recognised for developing and implementing a specialised discharge programme that enables lung cancer patients to be discharged 24 hours after surgery, with follow-up in their own homes to aid recovery.
The award was presented to advanced nurse practitioner, Stacey Stockdale and day 1 discharge facilitator, Rosibel Quintana at the Northern Cancer Alliance conference in October.
Stacey said: “It is such an honour to be recognised by the Northern Cancer Alliance. This award represents the hard work, dedication and passion of every single person who has helped to make the discharge programme a success for our patients.
“Thanks to funding from the Northern Cancer Alliance, we have been able to introduce a community physio and discharge facilitator to our team who have been integral in helping us to get people home quicker post-surgery.”
The discharge facilitator actively contacts patients coming in for planned lung removal, to answer any questions they may have prior to admission. They also remind them of the information given at their pre-assessment clinic appointment including exercise, smoking cessation and diet advice and expectation regarding length of stay.
The community physio works closely with the team of thoracic ANPs to support patients at home, following thoracic (lung) surgery.
They provide physiotherapy support including mobility and breathing exercises and have the added benefit of being able to clinically assess and examine patients and prescribe medications, as required.
This enables the team to offer patients an initial visit 24 hours post discharge (excluding weekends), a second visit within first 7 days and ongoing weekly visits as required until discharge.
Feedback from this new ‘outstanding’ service has been overwhelming positive for patients and relatives. One patient praised the team for their “kindness, compassion and communication” whilst another credited the ‘excellent’ physiotherapy for helping with their “speedy recovery.”
Others explained how the team “made them feel calm” and were the “best at what they do.”
Stacey added: “These new roles enable us to reduce length of stay and improve ongoing support to patients at home. We all share the same goal of improving outcomes for our patients so to be recognised for something we are so passionate about is a real privilege.”
The annual Northern Cancer Alliance awards recognise individuals, teams, or projects that have used innovation to drive quality improvements and enhance cancer patient care.
The thoracic surgical team have also been invited to speak at the NHS England Advanced Practice virtual conference in November to share how they helping to shape better outcomes for the future of healthcare.
Cancer lead, Jonny Ferguson said: “The team are true pioneers in their profession who always go above and beyond to ensure their patients receive the best possible treatment and care.
“This award is a testament to the valuable contribution they are making not only to their patients, but to the wider cancer community.”
