Engagement Opportunities
We are committed to working with our patients and the public as partners, and to putting patients and the public at the heart of all we do.
We want patients and local people to be directly involved in our work, helping us to shape local health services.
Here are the opportunities available to have your say:
The review of Mount Vernon Cancer services is continuing and patients and carers are invited to a set of online focus group sessions in early 2021 to help shape decisions about the future.
To decide what the best options might be, the NHS teams want to hear about what does and does not work well, and what your priorities would be. Several sessions were run for patients and carers on different cancer pathways in the autumn of 2020, including breast, head and neck, prostate, and haematology oncology. But as well as being about the Mount Vernon estate itself, the NHS also needs input into decisions about the way the whole service is organised.
The NHS teams want to hear from people across the whole of the area served by Mount Vernon. Across the last few months, a series of focus group sessions have been taking place. Following feedback from more than 75 of these workshops, patient and public groups are now being set up to help plan for the future of Mount Vernon Cancer Services.
There are a number of online working groups taking place looking at specific topics:
- Patient Records: 12 July, 2pm
- Radiotherapy: 15 July, 6:30pm
- Patient information and support: 16 July, 11:30am
- Building design and layout: 19 July, 3pm
- Patient transport: 22 July, 6.30pm
- Disabled access and experience: 29 July, 2:30pm
- Building design and layout: 20 September, 6pm
If you would like to participate in any of these meetings, you will need to register here, or email [email protected].
For more information about the review, visit www.mvccreview.nhs.uk – this site has all you need to know about the review and latest updates, or email [email protected].
Women and everyone with a cervix, between the ages of 25 and 64, is eligible for regular cervical screening and invited to attend their screening every three years until the age of 50, when they are invited every five years.
Around 2,600 people are diagnosed with cervical cancer in England every year with around 690 people dying from the disease, this equates to two deaths every day.
It is estimated that if everyone attended screening regularly, 83% of cervical cancer cases could be preven
But, unfortunately, cervical screening is currently at a 20-year low, with 1 in 4 eligible people in the UK not attending their test with a year-on-year decline. In fact, across Bedfordshire, Luton and Milton Keynes the 25-49 age group has a lower uptake than the national average.
To help us understand why people do not attend their cervical screening, we have created a short and anonymous survey.
Please click here to complete the survey.
