A neighbourhood approach to health and care
03 Jul 2025
The SEL Cancer Alliance is one of 21 Cancer Alliances in England which function as the primary vehicle for delivery of the NHS Long Term Plan ambitions for cancer and improvements in cancer performance. They bring together partners across complex cancer pathways to deliver the best care and outcomes for patients, using a data-driven and evidence-based approach, according to the needs of the local population.
Alliances bring together partners at neighbourhood, place and system level, working together to lead whole-system planning, delivery and performance of cancer care, and its improvement across their footprint. Their programme of work is broad and includes improvements against the cancer operational standards, faster and earlier cancer diagnosis, cancer screening, personalised care, patient involvement and experience, Rapid Diagnostic Centres, research and innovation, and reducing inequalities in cancer care.
Alliances also provide funding and capacity to support these programmes of work and secure cancer transformation, creating the evidence base to enable systems to adopt new approaches, and provide clinical leadership to cancer services and those working with them.
The Alliance works in close partnership with the cancer leads of the ICBs Planned care team, with further details on that team available here Planned Care – South East London ICS (selondonics.org)
Recent achievements
South East London Rapid Diagnostic Centre (RDC):
The SEL RDC helps patients who have vague or unexplained symptoms get an early or earlier diagnosis of cancer and other serious conditions. GPs and hospital doctors can refer patients with vague (non-site specific) symptoms such as weight loss, fatigue, unexplained pains, and concerning non-specific blood tests, for a comprehensive investigation. Before the introduction of the RDC, patients with these vague symptoms could be referred to numerous specialists before reaching a diagnosis. Rapid Diagnostic Centres are now situated at Guy’s & St Thomas’ Hospital and Princess Royal University Hospital Orpington with a further site at Queen Elizabeth Hospital Woolwich planned in 2022 to give greater coverage and access to this service for our local population.
NHS-Galleri Trial:
The NHS-Galleri trial is a research trial to see how well the Galleri™ test works in the NHS when used alongside standard cancer investigations. The aim is to see whether the test can help to find cancers at an early stage, when they are easier to treat. Around 140,000 volunteers aged 50-77 have registered to take part in the trial in England, which involves a simple blood sample which is sent for a Galleri™ test to look for DNA in the blood to see if any of it may have come from cancer cells.
South East London was one of the first locations in England to participate in the NHS-Galleri trial and has been supporting local Trusts in coordinating processes for any patients referred following a Galleri™ test to ensure timely investigation for suspected cancer.
Further information
For further information please visit the SELCA website where you can contact the team directly if you have any specific queries.
News, stories and events
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