Celebrating AHPs and their contribution to cancer care

To mark AHPs Day today (14 October), Northern Cancer Alliance is recognising the significant impact Allied Health Professionals (AHPs) have on delivering high quality care to patients with cancer.

We spotlight two AHPs leading NCA’s prehabilitation work in two trusts supporting patients to improve their physical, emotional and psychological health before and during treatment, helping them to feel stronger and recover sooner.

We ask them about their role and how it aligns with the three shifts – hospital to primary care and community services; analogue to digital and treatment to prevention – a key theme for AHPs Day 2025.

Nick Flanagan, Personalised Cancer Care Prehabilitation Lead and Digital AHP, South Tyneside and Sunderland NHS Foundation Trust (STSFT)

About you and your role
My name is Nick, I am a physiotherapist by profession. I work as the Prehabilitation Lead at STSFT. I started this role last year working part time while also working as the trust’s Digital AHP. I feel I have grown in both confidence and skills with the great support from our personalised care team and the wider regional prehab leads group.

What difference does your role make to cancer patients?Prehabilitation helps our patients to take back some control in times of uncertainty after a cancer diagnosis. We support our patients with understanding physical activity and nutrition, alcohol reduction and smoking cessation, as well as supporting their wellbeing with regular check-ins prior to their surgery or treatment. Our patients tell us this makes them feel stronger and more resilient as well as more prepared for the next steps in their journey.

How does your role align with the three shifts?

• Shifting from hospital to community care through establishing community-based projects to support our patients throughout their cancer journey,
• From analogue to digital by using newly-developed digital resources to support health and wellbeing.
• From treating illness to preventing it by building patients’ understanding, confidence and resilience ahead of treatment aiming to embed lasting behaviour change and address their modifiable risk factors.

How are you marking AHP Day?
I will be presenting an update on our pilot prehabilitation service as a breakout room at the STSFT AHP conference on 14 October. The aim is to help more of our staff understand the value of prehabilitation within our local context. We will also discuss the service development and quality improvement methodologies used to establish and evolve the service, and of course, our grand ambitions for the future!

Chloé McMurray, Personalised Cancer Care Prehabilitation Lead at University Hospitals Tees

About you and your role
My name’s Chloé, and I currently work as one of the Personalised Cancer Care Prehabilitation Leads at University Hospitals Tees. I am also a Specialist Hepatobiliary Pancreatic (HPB) dietitian and was fortunate enough this year to win GUTS UK/Dr Falk Dietitian Recognition Award 2025 for work that supported nutritional outcomes in patients with pancreatic cancer.

My current role at South Tees involves designing, coordinating, and delivering AHP-led prehabilitation services for cancer patients. This role bridges clinical, strategic, and operational work, ensuring patients are physically, nutritionally and psychologically prepared for treatment, in line with best practice and national strategies such as the NHS 10 Year Health Plan and Personalised Care agenda.

How does your role align with the three shifts?
Cancer prehabilitation supports and embraces the three key transformation objectives of the NHS 10 Year Health Plan, in the following ways:

• Sickness to Prevention: cancer prehabilitation reduces complications, optimises health before treatment and promotes healthier lifestyle behaviours.
• Analogue to Digital: cancer prehabilitation uses digital tools for remote screening, delivery, monitoring, and personalisation of care.
• Hospital to Community: cancer prehabilitation should be delivered in community settings where possible, integrated with primary care and can support reduced hospital dependency.

How are you marking AHP Day?
This year, our hospital group is celebrating AHP Day with a full day programme including  ‘3 minutes in a lift with CEO’ to showcase and highlight great AHP services and a ‘Dragons’ Den’ style event which will present service ideas for AHP solution-focused health care to showcase ideas, solutions, and blockages that need support to deliver on the NHS 10 Year Health Plan.