On Wednesday morning, First Minister John Swinney met with our dedicated cancer teams to discuss the impact of the Single Point of Contact (SPoC) pilot. The First Minister learned about how the SPoC service is operated through a centralised digital hub and handles a variety of cancer types, providing a dedicated point of contact for patients.
He remarked, “We are fully focused on improving cancer survival, and delivering excellent and accessible care is at the core of how we do that. The Single Point of Contact Service meets requirements identified by Boards to deliver improvements in communication and support for patients navigating cancer care. By taking in the region of 2,000 calls per month and providing person-centred support to those patients throughout their care journey, the Edinburgh SPoC project provides consistent access for patients to have conversations about their care, freeing up capacity for specialist staff to focus on the most complex cases.”
Katie Gibson, Neuroendocrine Tumour Clinical Nurse Specialist at the Edinburgh Cancer Centre, also shared her perspective during the visit, stating, "I've seen firsthand how the SPoC service has transformed our ability to care for cancer patients. The centralised system streamlines communication and allows us to spend more quality time with those who need it most. As a result, patients are aware of who to contact for the support and advice they require from diagnosis, treatment, and beyond."
By managing approximately 2,000 calls per month, the service has significantly eased the workload of our Clinical Nurse Specialists, allowing them to focus on the most complex and critical cases. Notably, around 40% of calls are now diverted away from the CNS workload, which has greatly improved the quality of patient interactions.
Scottish Government funding will enable us to continue providing direct and personalised support to our patients, ensuring they receive the best possible care throughout their journey.
Thank you to all our staff for your ongoing dedication and hard work in making these improvements to patients possible.