Tenovus Cancer Callback: an exploration of the critical success factors for engaging health professionals with the service: Final Report to Tenovus Cancer Care

Launched in 2012, the Tenovus Cancer Callback (TCC) service was a two-year initiative with funding from The Burdett Trust for Nursing. The service aimed primarily to provide psychosocial support to patients undergoing cancer treatment by qualified nurses via a telephone line between 8am to 8pm, seven days a week.
The aim of this research was to explore the critical success factors for engaging NHS health professionals with the TCC service, and with the third sector more broadly.
A qualitative approach was used to provide an in-depth exploration of the views of NHS health professionals’ views. Participants were selected purposively to include health professionals working with a range of cancer patients, in different geographical locations to capture a variety of referral rates Focus groups (n=3) were conducted in 3 Health Boards in Wales. In total, 18 participants took from nursing, medicine and, radiotherapy and therapies part. The focus groups were audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim. The data were analysed using thematic analysis with the aid of NVivo software (Bazeley, 2013). Relevant concepts and themes emerging from the data were identified and coded (Bryman and Burgess, 2000).
The number of referrals continues to increase, yet it is clear from this research that the service has been implemented in different ways. Health professionals reported a different methods of referral such as signposting or direct referrals to TCC. Most participants highly valued the TCC service, stressing the need for additional psychological or emotional support for patients, which they could not always provide. Complexity of care was a specific issue in relation to professional boundaries. There was strong consensus across all areas and professions about the importance of a cancer specialist to provide support in relation to certain elements of care plan and pathway. Governance was a particular concern in relation to roles and responsibilities and professionals boundaries. Health professionals endorsing a resource from an external agency was considered an important governance issue, which brought challenges around ownership of the service. The relationship between funding and ownership was also considered an ongoing issue for NHS staff with a feeling of dependency on the third sector.
Participants talked about experiences of successful projects and collaborations with the third sector. A variety of key features were considered integral to success which included coming together, communication and sharing information within and across different sectors. Ultimately, there is a need for stronger partnerships for future successful engagement between different sectors.