ACCEND – Cancer Academy

“I am so proud of the ACCEND programme for taking on such a complex set of challenges and delivering a real programme for empowering our cancer workforce. This education programme will support nurses and AHPs to increase their knowledge, skills, and career opportunities in our cancer services. It will both increase and improve the capacity to treat cancer patients now and for the future, and will also provide our cancer teams with the latest education and training needed for their critical roles. ”

“I am delighted to introduce the ACCEND Career Pathway, Core Cancer Capabilities and Education Framework. It comes at a particularly critical time for the UK nursing workforce; as we cope with increased waiting times, cancer backlogs and growing nursing vacancies. This framework however inspires us to look forward and consider how we can develop ourselves and those around us. This document should be used alongside other professional frameworks, guidelines and standards published. It is easy to navigate and should be the ‘go to’ for all nurses who support people with cancer. I truly believe that ACCEND has the potential to be transformative in cancer nursing careers.”

“UKONS would like to express their support for this capability framework specifically, and for the ACCEND programme more broadly. This important publication is the first step in providing all allied health professionals working with, and caring for, people with a cancer diagnosis with a single, clear educational framework. The absence of such a structure has been keenly felt and many of us on the UKONS board, UKONS champions and our members have been involved in the ACCEND programme which has this capability framework at its heart. Instead of sitting on a shelf, we believe this framework will be used widely and has been devised and structured to link with a wide range of resources which will guide and assist allied health professionals working within oncology from pre-registration through to consultant-level practitioners and strategic leaders.”

“This framework is an essential resource for nurses to be in a position to provide the very best care today whilst also preparing the workforce to provide outstanding care in the future. Knowledge and skillset lie at the core of providing all aspects of cancer care. This framework provides agreed descriptors, capabilities and career pathways to give uniformity and guidance to individual nurses, organisations and the general public. The framework reflects the breadth of the modern cancer team and the requirements at each level of practice. We are proud to have been part of the team who have worked on this resource and are delighted at the reception that it has received particularly with those who have needed it the most - nurses.”

Find out more about the programme and the framework here: NHS England ACCEND homepage

The ACCEND programme is a multiyear funded programme (2022-2025). Aiming to provide guidance and direction on the knowledge, skills and capabilities required by all nurses and allied health professionals (AHP’s), caring for people in both general and specialist cancer services across the 4 UK nations.

The overall purpose of the programme is to provide clear and transparent guidance and direction around the knowledge, skills and capabilities required by the supportive, assistive and registered nursing and AHP workforce. The ACCEND framework was launched in January 2023 and is made up of three main components:

Career Pathway

The career pathway aims to provide insight and guidance for the knowledge, behaviours and skills required to be working at each level of practice to enable the workforce to grow

Core Cancer Capabilities in Practice (CiPs)

Capabilities are the attributes (skills, knowledge, and behaviours) which individuals bring to the workplace. These are spilt into different domains within the framework and are broken down for each level of practice.

Education Framework

The education framework provides high level learning outcomes, syllabus and suggested assessment strategies for each part of the career pathway, supporting the knowledge requirements of the core cancer CiPs

You can find out more about what ACCEND means for you by clicking on the tiles below.

How can ACCEND help you in your role?

NHS Learning Hub

eLearning packages available for your role

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Supportive

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Assistive

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Registration

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Latest Udates

Read the latest news from the ACCEND national team:

ACCEND-Communication-May-2024.pdf

Cheshire & Merseyside Pilot Projects

The implementation of the ACCEND framework project is part of our Workforce Programme for 2024/25, which aligns with the main workforce priority areas highlighted as part of the NHS Long Term Plan, the NHS People Plan 2020/21: actions for us all, the Cancer Workforce Plan and the Diagnostics: Recovery and Renewal report.

We are working with three Trusts in Cheshire and Merseyside, running pilot projects to support with implementation of the framework.

The main objectives of the pilot projects are :

To engage with staff and provide them with an understanding of ACCEND
To communicate and help individuals to understand what the framework means for them
To highlight any gaps in capabilities across the workforce for each level of practice
To support individuals to take ownership of their development
To provide a clear career pathway evidencing against the framework

If you would like to find out more about implementation of the framework in Cheshire and Merseyside please contact Lucy Irwin via email lucy.irwin1@nhs.net

Useful Resources

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Primary/community care

Secondary/Tertiary care

PCCP

Tumour sites

HIPE

The Aspirant Cancer Career and Education Development programme (ACCEND)

How can ACCEND help you in your role?

NHS Learning Hub

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