The Commission for Rural Communities, Macmillan Cancer Support and the National Health Service are hosting a landmark event exploring the challenges around service delivery for those affected by cancer in rural England.

We are inviting a handpicked list of cancer service delivery stakeholders to use their expertise, so we can tackle the challenges and develop workable solutions to improve the quality of care for cancer patients in rural England.

The event will be framed by research of cancer patients experiences, which was conducted by the institute for public policy research for the Commission for Rural Communities.

The day will consist of a mixture of facilitated table discussions and short informative sessions to frame them. The sessions will be led by:

• Professor Sir Mike Richards (National Clinical Director for Cancer, Department of Health)
• Ciarán Devane (Chief Executive of Macmillan Cancer Support)
• Sarah McAdam (Chief Executive of Commission for Rural Communities)

The all day event (10.00-3.30) will be on 10 February 2010 at The Brewery in London.

The event is designed for 70 delegates.

Schedule
We are taking an innovative approach to the event, keeping presentations short and to a minimum, ensuring they add to delegates understanding of the issues of cancer service delivery in rural areas. The rest of the day will be designed to allow the delegates to take in what they have heard and work together to consider and build solutions to how service delivery in rural areas can be improved.

Delegates
The range of delegates will not have networked before, which will allow a wider viewpoint on these issues, and push innovative thinking towards the issues. The event will be free to ensure minimal barriers to getting the most relevant delegates. The delegate list is handpicked to ensure a good mix and wide range of expertise.

We are working with Macmillan and their cancer voices to ensure people who have been affected by cancer in a rural area attend and relay their stories.

For more information please contact cancer.event@ruralcommunities.gov.uk.

Further information about Major Life Events

'Cancer patients in rural areas call for more local services' press release