One example is the Northern Cancer Alliance, a collaborative in the north of England that brings together stakeholders from health, social care and the third sector. Covering areas with some of the UK’s highest cancer incidence rates, and starkest health inequalities, its targets include 55,000 more people each year surviving cancer for five years or more by 2028, and early diagnosis of 75% of cases.

Since 2019, the Alliance has expanded its collaborative approach by partnering with MSD. The relationship originated in a ‘pharma challenge’ issued by the Alliance that sought industry proposals that would help it to meet its work plan. MSD’s proposal focused on a small-scale HPV awareness project and pathway mapping for oesophageal-gastric cancers. The partnership subsequently evolved to include lung cancer pathways and a significant lung cancer awareness campaign during the pandemic.

Data shows the way forward – then relationships take over

Identifying those opportunities means turning to data. The NHS is rich in data – but sharing it is crucial. “Looking at your own data in isolation often isn't that helpful,” says Elliott. MSD analysis of national and local datasets helped to show how to improve care pathways among the Alliance’s providers.

But that was only the starting point, says Sheron Robson, the Alliance’s programme manager – change also demands trust. “It’s not as simple as just saying, ‘Here’s the best practice pathway, implement it and it’ll save you x number of days out of your cancer journey,’” says Robson. “Delivering successful optimised pathways requires strong relationships to be built with cancer managers, consultants and the Trust.”

One area where the Alliance’s approach to identifying efficiencies paid off was in managing radiology capacity. The Alliance’s analysis with MSD suggested that creating dedicated capacity for specific cancers could lead to days’ worth of improvements in those pathways.

“That was quite a hard sell for organisations,” says Robson. Some providers were wary of putting new limits on an already-limited resource. But the partnership’s analysis of data from the best-performing NHS Trusts demonstrated the potential benefits, and helped providers make that leap.

A partnership that wins awards

How did NHS staff view the involvement of industry personnel? “Understandably, there was initially a bit of caution,” says Elliott. From the outset, however, the approach embodied in the Alliance’s ‘pharma challenge’ differed from previous engagement between the NHS and industry. “It was a shift from industry offering to us, to us asking of them, based on our work plan,” says Robson. “That was key: we were getting what we wanted rather than getting an offer off the shelf.”

Since then, the experience of the partnership working, and its results, have built a highly productive relationship. The partnership was recognised at the HSJ Partnership Awards 2022: the lung cancer awareness campaign won in the Best Pharmaceutical Partnership with the NHS category, while the pathway work was highly commended.