DEDICATED staff at an award-winning St Cross Hospital department have been praised by Rugby’s mayor.
Mayor Tom Mahoney toured the hospital’s bowel cancer screening hub before presenting staff with a Simple Thank You – part of his Mayoral campaign to highlight the work of individuals and organisations who serve Rugby’s communities.
The bowel cancer screening hub at St Cross – one of five across the country – plays a key role in NHS England’s national screening programme for the third most common cancer in the UK.
The team at St Cross distribute testing kits and screens samples provided by thousands of patients across the Midlands and North West England.
Around one in 20 people in the UK develop bowel cancer and routine screening of 60 to 74-year-olds helps to detect the disease in its early stages.
Figures show early treatment for bowel cancer reduces the risk of dying from the disease by 16 per cent.
In 2017, the hub won a prestigious Healthcare Transformation Award for its partnership work with the fire and rescue services of Cheshire and Merseyside, Public Health England and Cancer Research UK.
The partnership saw fire crews distribute bowel cancer screening kits to vulnerable over 65-year-olds as part of Safe and Well visits, where firefighters visit residents at home to offer advice on fire safety.
Coun Mahoney, who visited St Cross in October to present certificates to the hospital’s outpatients department and Friends Blood Taking Unit, said: “The bowel cancer screening hub’s at the forefront of NHS England’s work to combat one of the most common cancers in the country.
“I was unaware St Cross was home to one of only five screening hubs in the country until my previous visit, so I was keen to return and find out more about its work.”
Coun Mahoney also delivered a Simple Thank You to the team at the Ash Dialysis Unit, who hold regular bingo sessions to keep patients entertained while undergoing long sessions of kidney treatment.
He also gave certificates to staff at the children’s outpatients department, which has a range of child-friendly facilities thanks to the support of the Friends of the Hospital of St Cross and the University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire Charity.
He added: “My Simple Thank You campaign aims to raise awareness of the often unsung organisations and individuals who serve Rugby’s communities and make the borough a better place to live.
“We should all be proud of the work carried out at the Hospital of St Cross and the dedication of the staff who work there.”
