Welcome to this month’s edition of Casebook in which we focus on the national cancer plan; sustainable community support for chronic illness in rural areas; rural and islands mental health forum; and the importance of a good start to life. We also extend an invitation to a series of seminars exploring rural and coastal hospital services and encourage you to share your NHS patient experience. Read on to find out more and book your space.
National Cancer Plan Sets Out Ambition To Improve Outcomes
The government has published its National Cancer Plan for England, setting out a ten-year ambition to improve cancer survival, increase early diagnosis, modernise services and reduce longstanding inequalities in outcomes across the country. The Plan follows a series of recent announcements, outlining specific measures that will sit beneath the new framework, including targeted investment in early diagnosis and new support for families facing the cost of accessing specialist care.
Cancer remains one of the country’s biggest causes of premature death, with survival rates in England lagging behind several comparable countries. The Plan positions cancer care as a litmus test for wider NHS reform, with a stated aim to save an additional 320,000 lives by 2035 through earlier diagnosis, faster treatment and improved quality of life for people living with cancer.
What The Plan Sets Out To Do
At its core, the National Cancer Plan commits to:
- Earlier diagnosis, including expanding screening programmes and increasing diagnostic capacity, with the goal of diagnosing three in four cancers at stage 1 or 2 by 2035
- Improved performance against cancer waiting time standards, supported by new diagnostic hubs, digital pathways and productivity improvements
- Greater use of innovation, including genomics, data and digital tools, to personalise care and speed up treatment decisions
- A stronger focus on prevention, recognising that around a third of cancers are preventable
- Better patient experience and quality of life, including support during and after treatment
- The Plan also places a strong emphasis on tackling inequalities, acknowledging that people in more deprived and underserved areas are more likely to be diagnosed later and have poorer outcomes.
Recent Announcements Linked To The Plan
Leading up to publication, the government announced a number of measures framed as early delivery of the Plan’s priorities.
One of the most significant announcements for families has been new funding to cover travel costs for children and young people with cancer. From 2026, up to £10 million a year will be available to support families with the cost of travelling to and from treatment, regardless of income. This responds to evidence that more than a third of families travel over an hour to reach specialist children’s cancer centres, often making repeated journeys over many months.
The government has also announced a £200 million, three-year Neighbourhood Early Diagnosis Fund, aimed at reducing gaps in cancer screening uptake and catching more cancers at an earlier stage.
Cancer Alliances and neighbourhood health services will be expected to work with local communities to design targeted approaches, including mobile screening and outreach in areas with persistently low uptake.
Read the National Cancer Plan Policy Document here
Several elements of the Plan and associated announcements have clear relevance for rural areas.
Support with travel costs for children with cancer is likely to be particularly important for rural families, who often face longer journeys to reach specialist centres and higher associated costs. Removing financial barriers to access recognises the reality of distance and travel time for families living further from services.
Similarly, the emphasis on community-based and mobile approaches to screening and diagnosis could help address some access challenges in rural and coastal communities, where transport, workforce capacity and service centralisation can all affect uptake.
The Plan’s focus on prevention, early diagnosis and neighbourhood-level delivery aligns with the principle that services should be designed around people’s lives, rather than assuming easy access to large hospitals or urban centres.
While the Plan sets out a strong national ambition, questions remain about how consistently its commitments will translate into improved access for rural communities.
The Plan does not set out rural-specific delivery mechanisms or funding formulas, and much will depend on how Cancer Alliances, integrated care systems and neighbourhood health services interpret and implement the approach locally. Workforce availability, transport connectivity and digital infrastructure will remain critical enablers, particularly in sparsely populated areas.
There is also limited detail on how success will be measured across different types of places. As RSN’s Delivering for All roadmap highlights, national metrics can mask rural realities unless they explicitly account for distance, dispersion and higher costs of service delivery.
Building Sustainable Community Support for Chronic Illness in Rural Areas
Across rural communities, people living with chronic illness often face a unique combination of challenges: limited access to services, social isolation, transport barriers, and a lack of locally grounded peer support.
ThriveWell Solutions CIC was created in response to these gaps, with a clear aim, to build sustainable, community-led wellbeing support that works with rural realities rather than against them.
Formed as a Community Interest Company now, ThriveWell Solutions CIC delivers low-pressure, accessible wellbeing spaces for adults living with long-term health conditions such as chronic pain, fatigue, and related conditions.
Our work is grounded in a simple but often overlooked principle: people do not need fixing, they need understanding, connection, and support that respects their energy, capacity, and lived experience.
One of our key initiatives has been the development of a layered support model. This includes a free community space focused on connection and normalisation, alongside a structured membership environment that offers education, guided reflection, and peer-supported learning.
Clear boundaries between these spaces protect both participant wellbeing and organisational sustainability which is a crucial factor for rural and volunteer-led initiatives.
In practice, this means the free community acts as a gentle bridge rather than a service delivery point. Members can share experiences, reduce isolation, and build trust without pressure.
Those who choose to engage more deeply can access the membership, which provides consistent rhythms, facilitated learning, and opportunities to apply insights safely and at an individual pace.
This structure has proved particularly effective for people managing fluctuating health, where traditional “one-size-fits-all” programmes often fall short.
ThriveWell also places strong emphasis on energy-aware delivery. Sessions, content, and community interactions are intentionally designed to be predictable, calm, and flexible.
This protects participants from overwhelm while also safeguarding facilitator capacity, an essential consideration for rural organisations where resources are often limited and burnout risk is high.
Alongside online provision, ThriveWell has put in place small-scale, in-person rural meet-ups in accessible local venues. These gatherings prioritise psychological safety, shared understanding, and low sensory demand.
Feedback consistently highlights how valuable it is for participants to connect locally with others who “get it,” without needing to explain or justify their health limitations.
From a best-practice perspective, three learning points stand out:
Clarity of role matters, communities thrive when expectations are clear and support is appropriately bounded.
Peer connection is not a ‘nice extra’ — it is a core protective factor for wellbeing, particularly in rural settings.
Sustainability must be designed in from the start, for both participants and organisers.
As ThriveWell Solutions CIC continues to grow, our focus remains on scalable, ethical, and community-centred support that can be adapted to other rural contexts. By working with lived experience rather than against it, rural communities can build models of care that are both compassionate and sustainable.
Connecting Voices, Strengthening Minds: The National Rural and Islands Mental Health Forum
Across the UK, rural and island communities face distinct mental health challenges shaped by geography, workforce pressures, climate change and inequality. At the same time, these places are rich in resilience, innovation and community connection. Hosted by Change Mental Health, the National Rural and Islands Mental Health Forum brings organisations together to turn shared challenges into shared solutions, connecting practice, evidence and lived experience to improve mental wellbeing beyond urban centres.
The Forum provides a collaborative space for charities, community groups, public bodies, employers and researchers working in rural and remote contexts. While rooted in Scotland, its learning, discussions and networks are increasingly relevant across the UK, where many rural issues, distance from services, stigma, recruitment and retention, and environmental change are widely shared. The Forum is a practical network where rural voices shape policy conversations and organisations learn from one another to strengthen local impact.
Recent sessions have already demonstrated this value. Earlier in the programme, contributors reflected on Breathing Space Day, sharing insights into how national helplines and crisis support can be promoted and adapted for rural contexts. Research on Climate Change Anxiety and Mental Health in Rural Areas, presented by the University of Glasgow, explored the psychological impacts of environmental change - learning all too familiar with farming, coastal and island communities across the UK. A further session on Suicide Prevention Communications and Media in Rural Areas examined how sensitive, effective messaging can reduce harm in smaller communities where privacy is limited and narratives travel fast.
The forthcoming programme continues to widen the lens to inclusion, workforce wellbeing and community resilience. ENABLE, will explore the mental health challenges and supports for people with learning disabilities in rural areas. Those issues are familiar to services across the UK where specialist provision is often scarce. The Refugee Council will share learning on Supporting Refugees in Rural Communities, offering insights relevant to towns and villages across the UK that are welcoming new arrivals and responding to trauma, integration and access needs.
Workforce mental health is another priority. The British Hydropower Association, through CEO Kate Gilmartin, will discuss Supporting the Workforce in Rural Areas, reflecting challenges common to remote, safety-critical and environmentally exposed industries. Finally, SeeMe will focus on Supporting Ethnic Minority Communities in Rural Areas, tackling stigma and barriers to support. All sessions will share insights with clear relevance across the UK.
Free to join and with a clear focus on rural and island communities, Forum members gain from a range of benefits: access to shared evidence and practice, opportunities to influence national policy thinking, and a supportive network that understands rural realities. By joining, you help ensure rural mental health is a shared priority, shaped by those who know rural life best.
Learn more about the National Rural and Islands Mental Health Forum here https://changemh.org/forum and join directly by contacting communications@changemh.org
Jim Hume, Director of Public Affairs & Communications, Convener of the National Rural & Islands Mental Health Forum.
Committee Report Examines The First 1,000 Days Of Life
The House of Commons Health and Social Care Committee has published a new report, First 1000 Days: a renewed focus, examining how effectively England is supporting children and families during the critical period from conception to age two.
The inquiry revisits the Committee’s 2019 work on early childhood and assesses progress made since then. It focuses on the systems and services intended to give children the best possible start in life, including Family Hubs and the Start for Life programme, health visiting, workforce capacity, vaccination uptake, and integration between services.
The Committee highlights strong evidence that the first 1,000 days are crucial for long-term outcomes in health, education and wellbeing. While early intervention is widely recognised as cost-effective, the report notes that England continues to perform poorly on several child health indicators compared to other European countries, including obesity, oral health, vaccination coverage and infant mortality.
A significant part of the report examines the role of Family Hubs, which are intended to provide joined-up, community-based support for families. The Committee welcomes the Government’s commitment to expand Family Hubs to every local authority area but raises concerns about funding levels, consistency of provision, and access, particularly for families with the greatest need. It notes that current funding remains well below historic levels seen under the Sure Start programme, while services are expected to cover a broader age range.
The report also identifies substantial workforce pressures. Health visitor numbers have fallen sharply over the past decade, with the Committee estimating a shortfall of around 5,000 posts nationally. It warns that high caseloads are limiting the ability of services to deliver mandated visits and provide early support and calls for a funded plan to rebuild the workforce.
Vaccination uptake is another area of concern. The Committee notes a steady decline in coverage since 2012, alongside significant regional and demographic variation. It recommends reinstating the 95% vaccination coverage target in NHS planning guidance and improving coordination at local level.
Finally, the report stresses the importance of better integration between health, early years and family services. It supports the development of a shared outcomes framework and improved data sharing, arguing that these are essential to delivering more joined-up, preventative support for children and families.
While the report is not focused on rural areas specifically, its findings and recommendations apply across England and have implications for all communities. The Committee’s conclusions underline the importance of sustained investment, workforce capacity and effective coordination in delivering early years services that work for families wherever they live.
Opportunity: Rural & Coastal Hospital Services
RSN members may wish to be aware of a new series of free-to-attend webinars being organised externally by the NHS - South West Region, the National Centre for Rural Health and Care, and PPL.
The webinars are not organised by RSN but may be of interest to members with a focus on rural, remote or coastal health services, particularly those working in provider settings.
The series will explore how small hospitals are responding to the challenges of delivering safe and effective services, with an emphasis on clinical models, service configuration and workforce issues. Transport and patient transfers are also expected to feature, particularly in the first two sessions.
Three sessions are planned:
Webinar 1 – Sustainable Emergency Services
22 April 2026, 9.30–11.30
Focusing on acute medicine, emergency department models, workforce, clinical adjacencies, ICU/HDU support, and transport.
Webinar 2 – Smaller Rural/Coastal Hospitals And Neighbourhood Health
Exploring the role of small hospitals within neighbourhood health and hub-based models.
Webinar 3 – Workforce And Technology: Small Hospitals As A Test Bed For Innovation
Shaped by learning from the earlier sessions, with a forward-looking focus on future solutions.
The first webinar is scheduled for 22 April 2026, 9.30-11.30. Please register by visiting: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/rural-and-coastal-hospitals-sustainable-emergency-services-tickets-1982673341336?aff=oddtdtcreator
If you or colleagues would be interested in contributing good practice examples or local experience that would be useful to share please email: nigel.edwards@ppl.org.uk
Share your experience in the Patients Association's Patient experience survey
Your experiences of the NHS matter and they can drive real change. The Patients Association work directly with patients to inform our recommendations that influence health and care policy, hold decision-makers to account, and improve how services partner with patients.
That’s why they are asking for 10 minutes of your time to complete their Patient experience survey. They want to hear about your experiences with NHS services over the last six months: what’s working well, what isn’t, and what needs to change.
Your responses will be used in a report to support their campaigning and advocacy work, helping them make the strongest possible case to government, the NHS, and policymakers for the improvements patients need and deserve.