The Cancer Services Collaborative Improvement Partnership (CSCIP) is working with cancer networks across the country to redesign services, cut waiting times and improve the experience of patients diagnosed with cancer and their carers.

The NHS Cancer Plan states that the new investment in staff and equipment needs to be accompanied by reform. The main focus of the CSCIP has been to focus on time and support so that teams can look at the way care is delivered and see how systems can be improved.

Radiotherapy is a complex, multi-step process involving many staff groups and access to limited resources. Before attempting to redesign any service it is essential to establish what the current situation is. Often our perception of what is happening within a service is based on limited data, which can mask the real situation.

The Radiotherapy Good Practice Guide brings together several areas of best practice and some useful tools that can help cancer teams work towards improving the patient’s journey.