The Cancer collaborative (Early Presentation of Cancer Symptoms Programme) has been short-listed for 2 more national awards – their 3rd and 4th this year.

The collaborative have been short-listed for the national finals of the Health Service Journal Awards in the category of ‘Best Social Marketing’ project and in the Public Health category of this year’s NHS Alliance Acorn Awards. In the Health Service Journal Awards, the Collaborative has been given recognition for its innovative community led social marketing approach to raising awareness of cancer symptoms and creating behaviour change. The Project is led by Julie Grimmer and supported by three teams of community workers. The community teams have worked closely with health care professionals to create their own unique approaches to targeted work within their communities.

Messages have been tailored and tested in localities, using innovative mediums, such as beer mats, bookmarks and calendars in order to present information in different ways which are more receptive to local people. The community team members are themselves ‘passports’ to their own communities, creating a very different approach to delivering health care messages.

Julie commented:

"The teams have achieved a huge amount during the last 15 months, and have gained national recognition for their work from the Department of Health. "

The NHS Alliance Awards are due to be presented on the first day of the NHS Alliance Annual Conference (16th October) by Rt Hon Alan Johnson, Secretary of State for Health. The HSJ Awards ceremony is taking place on 1st December.