UKAOS Board :: UK Acute Oncology Society

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The UKAOS Board:

	Dr Ernie Marshall (Chair) Consultant Medical Oncologist, The Clatterbridge Cancer Centre, Merseyside		Dr Caroline Wilson (Secretary) Consultant Medical Oncologist, Weston Park Cancer Centre, Sheffield
	Dr Claire Mitchell (Education Secretary) Consultant Medical Oncologist, The Christie NHS Foundation Trust, Manchester		Dr Hilary Williams (Treasurer) Consultant Medical Oncologist, Velindre Cancer Centre, Cardiff
	Naomi Clatworthy (Communications Secretary) Acute Oncology Nurse Consultant, Northern Devon Healthcare NHS Trust		Philippa Jones (Membership Secretary) Acute Oncology Nurse Advisor
	Dr Catherine O’Doherty Consultant in Palliative Medicine, Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust		Dr Andrew Viggars Clinical Oncology Specialty Registrar, Leeds Teaching Hospitals Trust
	Dr Anthony Cunliffe Macmillan National Clinical Adviser for Primary Care/Macmillan Lead Clinical Adviser and Clinical Adviser for London/Joint Clinical Chair South East London Cancer alliance		Alison Taylor Acute Oncology Nurse Consultant, The Clatterbridge Cancer Centre, Merseyside
	Dr Tim Cooksley Consultant in Acute Medicine, The Christie Foundation NHS Trust		Dr Robert Stuart Consultant Clinical Oncologist Royal College of Radiologists Acute Oncology representative / Thames Valley Cancer Alliance Acute Oncology Group Lead / Acute Oncology Lead Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
	Dr Frances Yuille Consultant in Clinical Oncology Edinburgh Cancer Centre		Lisa McCauley Macmillan Acute Oncology Nurse Specialist, Northern Health & Social Care Trust
	Joseph Williams BOPA Chair British Oncology Pharmacy Association

Retired Board Members:

	Dr Andrew Stewart was an inaugural member of the UKAOS and was the voice for Haematology in the development of acute oncology services. Andrew worked for many years with the NHS England Acute Oncology Group and was a leading voice in the development of Acute Oncology nationally.

Why is there a need for the UKAOS?

Acute Oncology provides a critical medical service for patients who require emergency treatment related to their cancer diagnosis; the UK Acute Oncology Society (UKAOS) aims to bring together a wide range of professionals to develop a cohesive multi-disciplinary expert body to support the developments of standards, guidelines, education, and research and most critically ensure acutely unwell cancer patients receive the best possible standard of care throughout the four UK nations.

Acute Oncology developed in response to key reports on safety of systemic Anti-Cancer Therapy in the UK; the National Confidential Enquiry into Patient Outcomes and Death (NCEPOD) report “Systemic Anti-Cancer Treatment - For Better, For Worse - (2008)” and the National Chemotherapy Advisory Group Report “Chemotherapy Services in England; ensuring quality and safety” 2009. The starting principle was to ensure systemic anti-cancer therapy was delivered safely and robust mechanisms were in place to improve patient safety. It is a multi-professional service delivered by oncologists, haematologists, acute medical consultants, A&E consultants, clinical nurse specialists, pharmacists, oncology nurses and palliative care specialists. The remit extends beyond systemic therapy complications to include new diagnosis of cancer or progressive disease in the emergency setting. The importance of acute oncology competency to the medical cancer workforce was recognised by the GMC in 2020; expert oncology teams will be required to work more closely with acute care.

In 2020, a team of multi-disciplinary professionals began to consider the need for a UK Acute Oncology Society and established strong professional support both via a ‘start up meeting’ and survey; informal discussions were held with members of NHSE, NCRI, UKONS, and BOPA.

The COVID-19 Pandemic highlighted the need for a national consensus on AOS; an urgent MDT response was required to the significant impact of COVID on acute cancer pathways. Without a national organisation, many of those involved in the development of the society worked together to write an expert consensus document published by both Royal College of Radiologists website https://www.rcr.ac.uk/posts/acute-oncology-increasing-engagement-and-visibility-acute-care-settings and the Association of Cancer Physicians. A longer-term response to the impact of COVID on acute cancer care will be a key remit of the UKAOS.

You can find further information about the UKAOS structure and workstreams here

Further information about the UKAOS can be obtained from the UKAOS Secretariat by completing a contact form

The UK Acute Oncology Society (UKAOS) is most grateful to Exact Sciences and Pfizer for their joint funding support of the Society in its inaugural year: the support from Pfizer was in the form of an unrestricted educational grant.

The UKAOS Board:

Retired Board Members:

Why is there a need for the UKAOS?

The UK Acute Oncology Society (UKAOS) is most grateful to Exact Sciences and Pfizer for their joint funding support of the Society in its inaugural year: the support from Pfizer was in the form of an unrestricted educational grant.

The companies have had no influence on the set up of UKAOS.

The UK Acute Oncology Society (UKAOS) is most grateful to Exact Sciences and Pfizer for their joint funding support of the Society in its inaugural year; the support from Pfizer was in the form of an unrestricted educational grant. The companies have had no influence on the set up of UKAOS.