The North West Children’s Cancer Operational Delivery Network (ODN) and Alder Hey Children’s NHS Foundation Trust have launched a new model of children’s cancer treatment, bringing chemotherapy and other care directly into patients’ homes.
The Care Closer to Home pilot will be delivered in partnership with the North West Children’s Cancer Operational Delivery Network and funded by Cheshire & Merseyside, Greater Manchester and Lancashire & South Cumbria Cancer Alliances in the North West.
It will transform how children and young people with cancer receive treatment, reducing travel, stress, and time away from home, school, and family life, and complementing existing services provided by local Paediatric Oncology Shared Care Units and Children’s Community Nursing Teams.
Children, young people and their families across the North West of England and North Wales face significant travel challenges to access specialist cancer care. Unlike adults, children and young people who are being treated for cancer must journey further due to the limited number of specialist centres, with families often travelling hundreds of miles for treatment. These journeys can place considerable time and financial pressures on families, with recent data showing an average monthly travel cost of £245 and an average one-way journey of 54 miles.
Now, nurses from Alder Hey’s oncology unit will begin visiting children and families across Cheshire, Merseyside, and North Wales, safely delivering selected chemotherapy and supportive treatments, which are typically administered in Alder Hey’s day case clinic, directly to their homes.
Home care will be offered to eligible patients at Alder Hey, covering Cheshire, Merseyside, and North Wales.
We know that frequent hospital visits can be hugely disruptive for children and families, impacting school, work and home life. By safely bringing elements of care into the community, we’re helping to ease that burden while maintaining the same high standards of safety and support families would receive in hospital. This is about improving quality of life as well as clinical outcomes.”
Dr Lisa Howell, Paediatric Oncologist and Lead Cancer Clinician at Alder Hey Children’s NHS Foundation Trust
In early 2026, will see the introduction of a mobile cancer care unit shared between Alder Hey and Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital (RMCH). This unit will provide pre-treatment bloods, symptom management, chemotherapy, immunotherapy, central venous access care, holistic assessments, medication collection, and late effects support—bringing complex care directly to children’s communities.
The innovative Care Closer to Home project aims to reduce the travel burden for children with cancer and their families, improve equity of access, and address long waits at Paediatric Treatment Centre Daycase Units, issues identified by children themselves as critical to improving their care experience.
Jon Hayes, Managing Director of Cheshire and Merseyside Cancer Alliance, said:
“We’re proud to fund and support this innovative pilot. It demonstrates the power of collaboration across NHS partners in improving children’s cancer care, safety, and experience. This shows how high-quality treatment can be delivered closer to home.”
Aligned with the NHS 10 Year Plan and the upcoming Cancer Plan, Care Closer to Home is a proof-of-concept project funded by the regional Cancer Alliances and currently supported until June 2026.