Leading breast cancer charity Breakthrough Breast Cancer has teamed up with University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust (UHB) to help highlight areas of good practice and identify areas in which services could be improved for local breast cancer patients.

Breast cancer is the most common cancer in the UK, with around 50,000 women and around 400 men diagnosed each year, and whilst breast care across the country is generally very good, there is always room for improvement.

The Service Pledge initiative will see Breakthrough work collaboratively with University Hospitals Birmingham over the next year during which patients are given a platform to voice what matters most to them, ensuring that they receive the highest possible standard of care in the future.

Through patient questionnaires and workshops, improvements will be identified following which the hospital will publicly commit to implementing a range of changes, as a promise to their patients that they can expect the best possible care.

Since first launching in 2003, Breakthrough’s Service Pledge for breast cancer has revolutionised expectations for over 30,000 breast cancer patients at more than 50 hospitals across the UK.

It is now being rolled out across a further ten hospitals, including UHB.

Catherine Wood, Senior Involvement Officer at Breakthrough Breast Cancer, said: “Patient engagement is at the heart of this initiative; through this, we can make a real difference to the lives of breast cancer patients across the UK, and the friends and families that surround them.

“In order to ensure their needs are met, and that the best possible care is provided, it is imperative that the voices of these patients are listened to and acted upon.”

Angela Barber, from Somerset, who was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 2011, will be acting as a patient advocate for the Service Pledge.

She said: “I’d like to give something back, both to the hospital team and other people like me in the area. If I can help improve things, if even only a little bit, then that would mean a lot.”

Paula Mitchell, Lead Cancer Nurse at UHB, said: “We are committed to working with our patients to develop and improve services to provide best in care.”