Trust strategy

We are proud to deliver excellent care to cancer patients from the immediate population of 3.2 million people in the Greater Manchester and Cheshire area, and to a significant number of patients from across the country in need of some highly specialised treatments.

We are able to provide service based on expert staff and a specialised infrastructure dedicated to the delivery of cancer treatment care, research and education. Our focus and size enables us to uniquely deliver effective and efficient specialist care offering patients the best possible outcomes from our research programmes. This is enhanced by the support that we receive from The Christie Charity which enables us to provide a level of care and experience for patients above and beyond what is funded by the NHS.

The Christie strategy 2023 to 2028 sets out how we will continue to deliver our mission - to care, discover and teach. It has been developed following extensive consultation with staff, patients and public, and our Board of Directors.

It sets out a clear vision of how we will transform cancer treatments, care and support, and improve outcomes for our patients. Our Strategy is focused on 4 main themes:

  1. Leading cancer care
  2. The Christie experience
  3. Local and specialist care
  4. Best outcomes

The refreshed Trust strategy has been built from integrating our Clinical strategies (made up from the ambitions of our internationally recognised clinical teams and the future plans of our state-of-the-art clinical services) with our Research and Innovation, Education and Clinical Outcomes strategies which have each been renewed in parallel.

Not only do our plans ensure that the patient is at the heart of everything we do, but they also demonstrate that the key service developments will be undertaken ensuring that the Trust remains operationally, clinically and financially sustainable.

To enable our team to focus upon improving the experience and outcomes of all our oncology patients, our plans not only define the investment we intend to make into facilities and expertise but also how we wish to work with the health professionals in Manchester and Cheshire to provide a more integrated, caring and personalised experience for our patients.

You can also read an accessible version of The Christie strategy 2023 to 2028 below.

Leading cancer treatments and improving outcomes for patients: Our Strategy 2023 to 2028

About The Christie 

The Christie specialises in cancer treatment, research and education and is the largest single site cancer centre in Europe. 

Treating more than 60,000 patients a year from across the UK, we became the first UK centre to be officially accredited as a comprehensive cancer centre and are supported by an independent charity. 

The Christie employs over 3,000 staff, all of whom are determined to provide the best possible cancer care and patient experience. Some of the developments we have made in the last few years are outlined here. During our last strategy, we have built a state-of-the-art proton therapy centre as well as creating facilities in Macclesfield. 

Our experts have been pioneering cancer research breakthroughs for more than 100 years and The Christie is well known for many world-firsts which have advanced cancer treatment on a global scale. 

Housing the largest single site early phase clinical trials unit in the UK, we have an excellent reputation as an international leader in research and innovation, which is further strengthened by being a partner in the Manchester Cancer Research Centre (MCRC) and Health Innovation Manchester.  The rebuilt Paterson building will further complement this work when it opens in 2023. 

A core element of The Christie is education. With its own School of Oncology, the first of its kind in the UK, The Christie educates healthcare professionals from across the country, enhancing the patient experience and promoting developments in cancer care.

Refreshing The Christie Strategy

The Christie strategy 2023 to 2028 sets out how we will continue to deliver our mission - to care, discover and teach - through the 4 themes of our vision: 

  1. Leading cancer care
  2. The Christie experience
  3. Local and specialist care
  4. Best outcomes

The refreshed Trust strategy has been built from integrating our Clinical strategies (made up from the ambitions of our internationally recognised clinical teams and the future plans of our state-of-the-art clinical services) with our Research and Innovation, Education and Clinical Outcomes strategies which have each been renewed in parallel.

Our ambitious plans for research and innovation will see The Christie learning from every patient, breaking down the barriers for patients to participate in research, and applying this knowledge to improve the lives of patients with cancer now and in the future.

Through our inclusive culture of world-class education, we will develop professionals in all disciplines who are compassionate and contribute to excellent care for patients at all stages of their cancer journey. Collaborative partnerships at local, national and international levels will drive educational innovation and research and enable us to learn from and with patients and communities to improve cancer healthcare within Greater Manchester and beyond. 

We will improve clinical outcomes for cancer patients through generation of real-word evidence, achieved through deploying systems to capture and assure quality of real-time clinical datasets from every patient. We will embed a data culture in collaboration with our partners, empowering clinicians to utilise data to drive improvements and developing a framework for the introduction of new technologies and artificial intelligence. 

This next iteration of The Christie Strategy has been informed through extensive consultation with our staff, patients and public. To ensure our strategy meets the expectations of our stakeholders and aligns to the aspirations of the Greater Manchester Integrated Care Partnership and the Greater Manchester Cancer Plan, the four themes of our Christie Vision are framed around 3 key priorities for the next 5 years: 

  • working in partnerships to support local and national systems
  • tackling cancer inequalities to level-up outcomes for all patients and populations
  • improving cancer outcomes through deploying the latest technologies and practice changing evidence. 

Delivery of the strategy will be supported through our enabling strategies for Digital, People and Culture, and Quality, which describe how we will deploy the latest technologies to improve efficiency and effectiveness; grow, develop and retain a diverse and valued expert workforce; and prioritise patient safety and the very best patient experience respectively. 

Underpinning the delivery of our ambitions in the next five years will be our values and behaviours. These have been reviewed alongside this strategic refresh; our new framework applies to all our Christie colleagues and defines how we approach our work and treat each other. Our values are beliefs or principles that are important and meaningful to us, and our behaviours are observable actions that bring these values – and our vision – to life.

Our Values and Behaviours 

Our Values and Behaviours shape the way we work. Values are beliefs or principles that are important and meaningful to us – they are what drives us. Behaviours are observable actions that bring these values to life. Our behaviours demonstrate our values through how we do things, what we say, how we say it, and how we treat others and expect to be treated ourselves. 

During summer 2022, we were supported by our trade union partners to run a series of engagement activities with over 260 colleagues. Colleagues shared stories about what a successful day at The Christie looked like to them and we explored what they, and others, were doing that made it a success. These conversations formed our key values - we Act with Kindness to one another, we Connect with People to build feelings of belonging and community, and we Make a Difference for our colleagues and patients through our work, and our relationships with each other. Each value is as important as the other. 

Our values and behaviours define how we approach our work and treat each other. They sit alongside what we do. This framework applies to all our Christie colleagues and details the behaviours required when we interact with each other, our patients, and our visitors. Through demonstrating these behaviours, we can deliberately shape our culture to help us achieve our Christie Vision, and positively influence areas such as patient experience and outcomes, staff wellbeing and continuous improvement.

A graphic showing The Christie's corporate values and behaviours. A blue circle on the left shows a star and reads Make a Difference. Round the edge, it reads We are courageous and try new ideas, and we are honest and take responsibility. A pink circle in the middle shows hands embracing people and reads Act with Kindness. Round the edge, it reads We care for each other and our environment, and we show appreciation and celebrate success. A purple circle on the right shows people working together to create a complete puzzle and reads Connect with People. Round the edge, it reads We are inclusive, and we work together as one team.

2018 to 2023 Strategy Review 

Under our 4 strategic pillars of Leading Cancer Care, The Christie Experience, delivering Local and Specialist Care and ensuring Best Outcomes, the 2018 to 2023 strategy set a range of ambitious objectives. A number of the successes are highlighted below:

  • We completed the UK’s first high energy Proton Therapy Centre – the Centre has recently treated its 1000th patient.
  • We completed The Christie at Macclesfield Centre – bringing care closer to people’s homes.
  • We continue to support international collaboration through our work with partners in Kenya, supporting the successful application for a £2.8m NIHR grant to improve oesophageal cancer survival in Kenya.
  • We continued to drive forward innovation in service delivery through becoming a European Centre of Excellence for Prostate Cancer.

1. Leading cancer care 

What we are doing now

We have developed a regional centre for brachytherapy to provide cutting edge treatments for patients with prostate and cervical cancer. 

We have implemented a first-of-its-kind dedicated service for older patients, the Senior Adult Oncology Service, which brings together a range of clinicians focussed on the particular needs of older people. 

Through the collaboration with The University of Manchester and Cancer Research UK, we have completed the £150m Paterson building, a world class transformational research facility dedicated to boosting treatment options for cancer patients. 

We routinely publicise our outcome data through our monthly performance reports and annual quality accounts on our website. 

Our ambition for the future 

We will realise the potential of the Paterson development - seamless integration of research with clinical care. 

We will grow our pipeline of Christie leaders with regional, national and international influence. 

We will accelerate research delivery through efficiencies and innovation - tomorrow’s treatments to patients faster. 

We will create sustainable opportunities for our staff to work within international partnerships to tackle cancer inequalities locally and globally. 

We will further develop accessible and inclusive cancer care education and training through the development of an ‘Excellence in Education’ centre and exploration of the impact of registered education provider status.

2. The Christie Experience 

What we are doing now 

We continue to offer high-quality patient experience with patients consistently rating the Trust as providing excellent care. In the 2021 National Patient Experience Survey rated The Christie as achieving ‘much better than expected results’. 

We continue to develop The Christie School of Oncology to have national impact. It played a key role in supporting staff training during the pandemic and continues to increase the range and breadth of its offer. 

We have worked with the Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust so that we can continue to support the delivery of acute medical services ensuring our patients receive optimum care. 

Our ambition for the future 

We will improve inpatient experience and efficiencies through emerging / next generation ward environments.

We will establish Christie Research Outreach - access to research for every patient across Greater Manchester.

We will personalise the Christie outpatient experience embedding digital healthcare tools. 

We will embed cancer partnerships beyond Greater Manchester by building on the success of national service networks and hosting Operational Delivery Networks. 

We will grow active patient and public engagement opportunities across cancer education priorities.

3. Local and specialist care 

What we are doing now 

Patients told us that they found the care at The Christie to be of exceptional quality. We deliver cutting edge treatments via our network of radiotherapy centres. 

We have expanded our chemotherapy at home service to deliver treatment close to people’s homes, saving them time and travel. 

In partnership with Alliance Medical we have continued to implement the National PET 1 contract and through the National PET 2 contract we are expanding local access to PET CT in Greater Manchester. 

During the pandemic, we worked with other NHS providers to ensure cancer surgery could continue for patients in Greater Manchester, offering mutual aid and developing a Greater Manchester-wide surgical hub. 

Utilising innovative technology such as the MR-linac to offer cutting edge treatments. 

Our ambition for the future 

We will develop a single Christie non-surgical oncology service with equitable care for all patients across Greater Manchester. 

We will collaborate with partners to improve access to cancer diagnosis and treatment targeting areas of greatest need. 

We will expand cancer survivorship programme with system leadership for managing late effects, supportive care and research. 

We will establish a Christie Advanced Cancer Scanning Centre for state-of-the-art diagnostics and increasing capacity. 

We will work with partner organisations to integrate a sustainable next-generation cancer pathology service in cytogenetics, histopathology and blood sciences.

4. Best outcomes 

What we are doing now 

We are leading the 4 cancer themes as part of the recently accredited and expanded Manchester Biomedical Research Centre. 

We are continuing to build on our expertise in proton beam therapy through research. 

Through our academic investment plan, we have continued to recruit world experts to contribute to our work on experimental cancer therapeutics, radiotherapy related research and discovery research in tumour specific themes such as lung, prostate, melanoma and pancreatic cancer. 

We have invested in our surgical programme through the purchase of next generation surgical robots. 

We have provided patients with important information about their treatment via data on effectiveness, safety and patient experience. 

Our ambition for the future 

We will drive improvements in quality, safety and patient experience through real-time data for ‘data-enhanced clinicians’. 

We will accelerate improving outcomes through launching a Clinical Outcomes and Data Unit (CODU). 

We will develop a secured-data environment with regional/national capability in collaboration with research partners. 

We will work in partnership with the Greater Manchester Cancer Alliance to establish and report cancer equality metrics and KPIs. 

We will improve outcomes for older patients with cancer through the Christie Senior Adult Oncology service.

Keep up-to-date with all our news from the latest Christie developments to charity events

The Christie NHS Foundation Trust
Wilmslow Road
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United Kingdom

Phone: 0161 446 3000

www.christie.nhs.uk 

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Last updated: May 2023

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