How a Leeds hospital project is bringing life-changing cancer treatment into children’s homes
The success of the in-home chemotherapy service is being applauded by children’s cancer charity Candlelighters, which has funded the new NHS role.
A teenage cancer patient has spoken of the life-changing at-home chemotherapy service that has enabled her to “finally feel normal for once.”
Isla Clifford, 13, was diagnosed with sarcoma, which is a rare type of cancer, in April 2024, aged 11. Based in Bingley, before having her chemotherapy at home, she had to travel to hospital three times a month.
The success of the service is being applauded by children’s cancer charity Candlelighters, which has funded the new NHS role, the Candlelighters Chemotherapy Project Nurse Specialist, since 2023, during a two-year pilot at Leeds Children’s Hospital.
The service, which provides chemotherapy for children at home rather than in hospital, is now set to continue permanently with hospital funding. It provides a choice to families of having care closer to home, supporting the priorities of the NHS Long Term Plan. Each year of the pilot, over 200 home chemotherapy visits were made to children and young people.
Isla said: “I missed so much school and got far behind, and my Mum had to miss work. However, when my in-home chemotherapy nurse Neil is here, it’s a five-minute ‘push’ dose of chemo medication. We always chat, and it’s just so, so, so, so much better.
“Neil has made my life so much easier in so many ways. I have started going back to school, dancing, and seeing my friends. I am starting to finally feel normal for once.
“I get home from a full day of school, and it’s so easy because Neil is there. It makes me happy. I don’t have to sit for hours at a time in a clinic where it makes me sad, think about too many things and get more and more worried.”
The in-home chemotherapy service was initially developed during the Covid pandemic. It proved to have a huge impact on the quality and experience of care for families eligible to receive it.
Dr Susan Picton, Chemotherapy Lead for Haematology and Oncology at Leeds Children’s Hospital, said: “This was the first role of this kind, putting Leeds Children’s Hospital on the map as a trailblazer for this innovative service.
“Following a successful two-year period funded by Candlelighters, we are delighted to be making this service part of our business as usual and available for patients in the future. It’s a fantastic example of how clinicians and charities can work together to improve care for patients, putting families first”
Emily Wragg, Chief Executive of Candlelighters, explained that the two-year trial demonstrated many successes.
Emily said: “Families reported numerous benefits, including a reduction in anxiety for children having treatment at home, improved school attendance because treatment is coordinated around the school day, parents being able to continue working, a reduction in travelling time and travel costs, and receiving psychological and emotional support within their home.
“Leeds Children’s Hospital has also seen benefits. A reduction in the number of patients needing to come into the hospital has helped infection prevention and enabled timelier, enhanced care and support to those patients attending the hospital.
“The project aimed to show how in-home bolus chemotherapy could become business as usual within Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust. We also wanted to include any child or young person in the Yorkshire region who would meet the eligibility criteria for bolus chemotherapy at home and generate evidence of the benefits to families and Leeds Children’s Hospital.
“We’re thrilled that funding from Candlelighters has enabled the proof of concept for such a vital service. We hope this sets the example and inspires other Principal Treatment Centres across the UK to provide the same level of care, closer to home, that is available at Leeds Children’s Hospital.”
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Most children across Yorkshire with a cancer diagnosis are referred to Leeds Children’s Hospital. This includes patients based in North, West and East Yorkshire, the Humber, and occasionally Northeast Lincolnshire, representing one of the largest geographical areas of any specialist centre within the UK.
This poses significant challenges to families accessing treatment. For some, their journey to Leeds can involve a 150-mile round trip and two hours of travel time each way. The introduction of the at-home service meant that each year, this saved families from travelling over 9,000 miles and almost 300 hours of travel time.
Isla’s Dad Sean described the in-home treatment as “crucial to Isla’s education and wellbeing.” He said: “Neil has been exceptionally accommodating, coming after school hours and allowing Isla to avoid spending long, exhausting periods in hospital settings - something she has already endured, far more than any child should.
“Neil has brought hope to our lives at a time when we felt there was none. The positive impact the in-home chemotherapy service has had on our family cannot be overstated.”
You can learn more about how the cancer charity supports families affected by childhood cancer at Candlelighters.