Supporting patients through the airwaves – a new series of podcasts for cancer patients

 

 

 

 

Cancer Clinical Nurse Specialists from Gateshead Health NHS Foundation Trust have produced a series of podcasts to support their cancer patients. These podcasts provide their patients with access to information on a range of topics at a time to suit them.

The team were supported by PROTO provided the sound system, editing and the transcripts for all the individual podcasts (for patients who do not have access to the internet). PROTO is owned and managed by Gateshead Local Authority. The nursing team at the trust are extremely grateful for all the help and support PROTO have given them with this project.

What are the benefits of podcasts?

Podcasts are an effective way of sharing information. Patients can choose how and where they listen, information can be paused and rewound, patients can multi-task while listening and listen to the information as many times as they want or need to.

The team at Gateshead have found that podcasts (and videos) are a simple and low-cost medium that can have a powerful impact on patient care. The personalised care team now have the videos and podcasts strategically throughout the cancer pathways.

A wide range of topics

The catalogue of podcast topics include managing breast pain, sex and cancer, managing hair loss, dealing with uncertainty, Maggie’s, FACT, Macmillan financial services, clinical trials, what to expect if you have been diagnosed with a gynae cancer, breast reconstruction, managing treatment side effects, what happens at a breast screening appointment and patients detailing their individual cancer journey.

The podcasts consist of interviews with a wide range of health care professionals, patients, and local charities to provide trusted and reliable sources of information relevant to a patient’s stage of treatment and diagnosis.

Future podcast releases will cover the following topics

  • Prehabilitation
  • Genetics,
  • Bowel screening
  • Northern Cancer Voices patient and carer group
Where can the podcasts be found

The catalogue of podcasts continues to grow in both number and popularity (currently at 2300 + views), and the team have just released the catalogue on Spotify as well as on the trusts own Youtube site.