Cancer charity appoints Shropshire GP to help improve county's care
Macmillan Cancer Support has appointed Dr Gill Clements as the Macmillan GP Facilitator in Shropshire.
Dr Clements has worked in Shropshire for 20 years as a GP, including at local practices and at the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital.
Macmillan GP Facilitators form a key link between healthcare professionals in the community and the hospitals. As the number of people living with cancer increases and survival rates improve, there is a growing need to improve the quality of care for these patients.
Dr Gill Clements says: "We need to ensure that people with cancer have the opportunity to live as full a life as possible by providing ongoing advice and support tailored to their situation, needs and wishes. There’s a wide range of help and support in our area, but we need to understand how to join it up so that people with cancer in Shropshire have a better experience of care.
"So I firmly believe that I can make a difference by working with patients and the excellent services available locally."
Dr Clements will start her work by meeting a range of patients and patient groups within communities across the county to make sure their views are incorporated into any improvements.
Tudor Humphreys, Partnership Manager for Macmillan in Shropshire, said: "We wanted to work with Shropshire CCG to look at how we could join up the care that cancer patients receive in the community with the care from the hospitals. So we’ve invested £41,000 with them to fund the role for the next two years so that Dr Clements can start doing that.
"We couldn’t do what we do without the people in Shropshire holding coffee mornings, braving the shave, and doing all sorts of sporting activities for Macmillan, so thank you to everyone who’s donated."
Anyone worried about the signs or symptoms of cancer can visit the Macmillan Information and Support Service at Shrewsbury and Telford hospitals, or by calling 01743 261000 ext 1957.
If you, or someone you know, is struggling with life after a cancer diagnosis, visit www.macmillan.org.uk or call 0808 808 00 00 for information and advice.
