Case Study
8
June 2018
Raising the
standard for
cancer care
professsionals
Macmillan Cancer Support shows just
how an annual meeting can raise up
standards and rally the troops
Th e Macmillan Professionals Conference
was nominated for the ABPCO excellence
awards at the end of 2017. Chief of the events
management team at Macmillan Cancer
Support, Jo Powel, shares here some insights
into the event, and its impact.
Th e event was a two-day conference with
an awards ceremony aimed at Macmillan’s
health and social care professionals and
took place in mid-November at the Hilton
Birmingham Metropole and reached over
350 professionals.
Macmillan nurses are often the fi rst point
of contact when a person hears a cancer
diagnosis and are there for people at the
end of life. Macmillan professionals include
a range of roles – the information and
support manager who provides the detail
to help patients understand their condition,
the benefi ts advisor who is on hand to
help with fi nancial worries, the physio
that supports a cancer patient to do their
ironing or the GP that looks after a person
in their community.
Th ere are over 7,000 Macmillan
professionals and the charity says that
£3 out of every £4 is donated because
someone has had a recognisable Macmillan
experience from one of its professionals.
Th e annual conference is an event that
off ers educational opportunities for
professionals so they can continue to
deliver the best care and also hear all about
what the organisation is doing.
Th e conference off ers inspiring talks
from leaders at Macmillan, and also from
patients. In all the Birmingham event
off ered 14 educational sessions and an
exhibition with 16 stands with information
about the resources and tools available for
care professionals.
Th e conference also off ered delegates a
chance to network and enjoy some time
away from their normal day-to-day.
Macmillan professionals are diverse, and
Powel says it was important, therefore,
to understand what they want from the
event and to work with them to design the
programme and content.
“With their feedback we increased
the number of educational sessions and
incorporated more networking sessions, and
involved more professionals in delivering
the content,” Powel said.
One of the biggest changes was the
integration of the awards and the
conference.
Th e Macmillan excellence awards
showcase exceptional professionals who
champion change and innovation in their
services. Th eir achievements range from
improving cancer waiting times, saving
money or setting up partnerships with local
organisations. Th e awards ceremony takes
place on the second evening and has been
part of the conference for fi ve years.
In Birmingham, all the fi nalists were
invited to present a poster about their
achievement.
Powel and her team changed the
marketing tactics and targeted new