Quality standard

Quality statement 1: Multidisciplinary teams for young people

Quality statement 1: Multidisciplinary teams for young people

Quality statement

Young people (aged 16 to 24 years) with cancer have their diagnosis, treatment and support agreed and delivered by a cancer-site-specific multidisciplinary team and a teenage and young adult multidisciplinary team.

Rationale

Children's services have well-established models of care to ensure that children with cancer are seen by a children's cancer multidisciplinary team. However, there is variation in access to age-appropriate care for young people. In addition to cancers more commonly found in their own age group, young people can also experience cancers more common to children or adults. It is therefore important for them to be seen by both a cancer-site-specific multidisciplinary team and a teenage and young adult multidisciplinary team, to ensure that they have a correct diagnosis and receive the most effective treatment.

Quality measures

The following measures can be used to assess the quality of care or service provision specified in the statement. They are examples of how the statement can be measured, and can be adapted and used flexibly.

Structure

Evidence of local arrangements for all young people (aged 16 to 24 years) with cancer to have their diagnosis, treatment and support agreed and delivered by a cancer-site-specific multidisciplinary team and a teenage and young adult multidisciplinary team.

Data source: Evidence can be collected from information recorded locally by provider organisations, for example from clinical pathways.

Process

a) The proportion of young people (aged 16 to 24 years) diagnosed with cancer who have their diagnosis, treatment and support agreed by a cancer-site-specific multidisciplinary team and a teenage and young adult multidisciplinary team.

Numerator – the number of people in the denominator who have their diagnosis, treatment and support agreed by a cancer-site-specific multidisciplinary team and a teenage and young adult multidisciplinary team.

Denominator – the number of young people (aged 16 to 24 years) diagnosed with cancer.

Data source: Data can be collected from information recorded locally by healthcare professionals and provider organisations, for example from patient records.

b) The proportion of young people (aged 16 to 24 years) with cancer who have their treatment and support delivered by a cancer-site-specific multidisciplinary team and a teenage and young adult multidisciplinary team.

Numerator – the number of people in the denominator who have their treatment and support delivered by a cancer-site-specific multidisciplinary team and a teenage and young adult multidisciplinary team.

Denominator – the number of young people (aged 16 to 24 years) with cancer.

Data source: The National Cancer Registration and Analysis Service Cancer Outcomes and Services Main Dataset includes the type of multidisciplinary team meeting at which the person's treatment and support is discussed (CR3190).

What the quality statement means for different audiences

Service providers ensure that cancer-site-specific multidisciplinary teams and a teenage and young adult multidisciplinary team are in place to agree and deliver the diagnosis, treatment and support for young people (aged 16 to 24 years) with cancer.

Health and social care practitioners work collaboratively across cancer-site-specific and teenage and young adult multidisciplinary teams to agree and deliver the diagnosis, treatment and support for young people (aged 16 to 24 years) with cancer.

Commissioners ensure that they commission cancer services for young people (aged 16 to 24 years) that include provision of cancer-site-specific multidisciplinary teams and a teenage and young adult multidisciplinary team for young people with cancer.

Young people with cancer (aged 16 to 24 years) have their diagnosis, treatment and support agreed and delivered by a team of experts in the specific type of cancer that they have and a team of experts in treating and supporting young people with cancer.

Source guidance

Improving outcomes in children and young people with cancer. NICE guideline CSG7 (2005), Multidisciplinary teams: page 93, paragraph 1; page 94, paragraphs 1 and 4; and Principal treatment centres: page 104, paragraph 2

Definitions of terms used in this quality statement

Teenage and young adult multidisciplinary team

A dedicated multidisciplinary team with expertise in cancer-related issues for teenagers and young adults, and their families and carers. The composition of the multidisciplinary team varies depending on the stage in the care pathway, but may include a:

  • lead oncologist/haematologist with experience in teenage and young adult cancer

  • principal treatment centre lead nurse

  • specialist nurse

  • psychologist or level 3 psychology support

  • young people's social worker

  • youth worker or activity coordinator

  • teenage and young adult key worker.

[Adapted from NICE's guideline on improving outcomes in children and young people with cancer, Multidisciplinary teams: page 92, table 4]

Cancer-site-specific multidisciplinary team

A dedicated multidisciplinary team with specialist expertise in treating cancer in specific sites. [Adapted from NICE's guideline on improving outcomes in children and young people with cancer, Multidisciplinary teams, page 94, paragraph 1]