Welcome to the UKAOS Nurses Group our primary aim is to ensure that acute oncology nurses are involved in the ongoing development, delivery and review of Acute Oncology Services in the UK and internationally.
We know that nurses are the primary workforce in AO and our numbers are increasing, come and join us to be part of our organisational and operational development – we are already making a real difference.
Aims of the sub-group
- Knowledge creation and sharing to develop practice and improve the quality of
- learning and teaching – action- finding, collating, organising, and distributing
- knowledge to Subgroup members and the wider health care community.
- Developing, validating, and disseminating best practice.
- Problem solving, bringing together expertise to focus on solving a common
- problem, thus providing benefits to members and the wider health care
- community.
- Innovation-review and highlight and disseminate new and emerging areas of
- knowledge. Identify opportunities for innovation and research.
The UKAOS Nursing Subgroup aims to support the AO nursing
teams across the 4 nations in line with the RCN 4 Pillars of Nursing
and the UKONS Acute Oncology Knowledge & Skills Framework.
The Royal College of Nursing defines nursing as a safety critical profession
founded on four pillars:
- clinical practice
- education
- research
- leadership.
Registered nurses use evidence-based knowledge, professional and clinical
judgement to assess, plan, implement and evaluate high-quality person-centred nursing care.
The work of registered nurses consists of many specialised and complex interventions.
Their vigilance is critical to the safety of people, the prevention of avoidable harm and the
management of risks regardless of the location or situation.
Compassionate leadership is central to the provision and co-ordination of nursing care and
informed by its values, integrity, and professional knowledge.
Responsibility includes leading the integration of emotional, physical, organisational, and
cognitive nursing work to meet the needs of people, organisations, systems, and populations.
Registered nurses are decision makers. They use clinical judgement and problem-solving
skills to manage and co-ordinate the complexity of health and social care systems to ensure
people and their families are enabled to improve, maintain, or recover health by adapting,
coping, and returning to live lives of the best quality or to experience a dignified death.
They have high levels of autonomy within nursing and multi professional teams, and they
delegate to others in line with the NMC Code.
UKONS Acute Oncology Knowledge and Skills Framework:
The Framework spans four Levels of Practice: Core, Intermediate, Advanced and Expert.
It describes the role-specific knowledge and skills for both general/non-specialist and
specialist clinicians involved in the care of people affected by cancer who may be
experiencing acute problems related to their cancer or the treatment they are receiving.
The Levels of knowledge and skills for the competences are the same as the
Levels of Practice in the Acute Oncology Competence Assessment Passports and
completing the Passports provides evidence of competence:
Passport resources can be accessed here:
https://www.ukacuteoncology.co.uk/training-and-education
This Framework aligns with the NHS England Aspirant Career and Education Development
(ACCEND) Capability Framework for all staff outside of medicine who work in cancer care,
full details of this mapping can be downloaded from the link above.
The Framework can also be used in conjunction with competency frameworks from
Royal Colleges, mapping to these documents is in progress with UKAOS members a
nd will be shared once available.
Group Activities:
Clinical Practice:
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Education:
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Leadership:
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Research and Quality Improvement :
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MembershipThis group is managed by a commitee drawn from members of UKAOS
Membership: Representation from ED / EAU / SDEC / RCN from the 4 nations. Membership is open to health care professionals or data analysts with an interest in developing Acute Oncology metrics and quality measures. If you would like to join the group, please complete an enquiry form on the UKAOS website, and we will respond. Group terms of reference and governance can be found at this link.
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Hi everyone,
I hope you are all well.
As we start to build excitement around National Acute Oncology Week 2026, we are pleased to share that we have developed a resource pack and email banner to help support teams in promoting and planning activities for the week.
We know that everyone is incredibly busy, so the resource pack has been developed as a helpful guide and source of ideas, rather than a list of instructions or expectations. The aim is to make it as easy as possible for teams to get involved in a way that works for their local service and available capacity
Resource Guide EMail Banner
The pack includes ideas and suggestions that can be adapted locally, whether you are planning a larger event, delivering education, raising awareness, celebrating your team or simply helping to shine a spotlight on Acute Oncology.
The email banner can also be used to help promote the week within your organisation and encourage colleagues to get involved.
We would really appreciate your support as members of the UKAOS Nursing Group in helping to promote National Acute Oncology Week through your own teams, organisations and professional networks.
Please take a look at the resources and start thinking about how your service might like to get involved. There is no expectation for everyone to do the same thing — every contribution, big or small, will help raise the profile of Acute Oncology and showcase the incredible work being delivered across the UK.
We would also love to hear about any activities you are planning, so that we can share ideas and celebrate what is happening across the country.
Let’s work together to make National Acute Oncology Week 2026 a fantastic opportunity to raise awareness, celebrate our teams and showcase the important role of Acute Oncology.
Best wishes,
Alison
Macmillan Acute Oncology / MUO / CUP Lead Nurse (Salford)
Acute Oncology
Haematology, Immunology, Rheumatology, Oncology (HIRO)
Medicine Specialities
Northern Care Alliance NHS Foundation Trust
We are in the process of updating this page more information will follow shortly.
Feedback and Questions
If you have any feedback or questions about the nursing group, please submit your enquiry here: Contact us :: UK Acute Oncology Society
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