We launched our Teenage and Young Adults’ (TYA) Cancer Service, overseen by clinical nurse specialist Virginia Gonzalez (pictured), in March 2020, just as the Covid-19 pandemic hit.

This has meant Virginia has had to look at new ways to stay in touch with her patients, and she’s found that Whatsapp is a great tool to check on their wellbeing!

Virginia said: “I work with 16 to 25-year-olds and often found they wouldn’t pick up the phone if they didn’t know the number. So I adapted to them and found that Whatsapp works better.

“It allows me to introduce myself and the service and arrange a time to talk via video call. I can also use it afterwards to check on them and how they’re doing.”

Virginia’s role, funded by the Teenage Cancer Trust, is to support young people living with cancer, part of which involves bringing services closer to home for them. Most of her referrals come from University College London Hospitals Trust (UCLH), a specialist centre for young cancer patients.

Virginia added: “Before this service was introduced, these patients had to travel into central London to UCLH for every appointment. This could mean missing out on time in education.

“Now, we can offer them necessary blood tests, Covid swabs and PICC line care (peripherally inserted central catheter line, used for giving chemotherapy or other treatment), locally, which is much better for them. As part of the development of the service, I’d like to be able to offer more services locally.”

UCLH remains the main treatment centre for our young cancer patients; and is where they have chemotherapy. In developing our TYA service, which is based in the Sunflower Suite at Queen’s Hospital, Virginia would like to have an additional space at our hospital for patients to be cared for in an emergency, reducing the time they would spend in A&E.

She said: “Sometimes they need to come to A&E, for complications following treatment for example. A&E isn’t a great place for them to be, especially as they have low immune systems.

“I’m working on building links with our A&E teams so I can use my specialist knowledge to help us provide better care. Not all staff are trained to use PICC lines, which can mean patients are given an extra needle. And if they have an infection, they need antibiotics within 30 minutes.”

To help achieve this, Virginia is setting up multi-disciplinary meetings within our Trust, to bring colleagues together to look at ways of providing more joined up care.

And with the TYA hub offering a range of entertainment for its young patients, including games, a TV and Playstation, thanks to funding from our charity, she’s also planning on organising some support events. These will bring young cancer patients together so they can share experiences, help each other, and generally meet new friends who understand what they’re going through.