Velindre cancer team wins safety award for immunotherapy support
A Velindre-led team helping cancer patients manage immunotherapy side effects has won the HSJ Patient Safety Team of the Year award. The organiser’s 2026 winners list confirms the award for the South East Wales Immunotherapy Toxicity Service.
The service evaluation
- Patients supported
- More than 1,000
- Emergency bed days avoided
- About 65%, estimated
- Cost savings
- £615,000, estimated
What the service does
The service brings together specialist cancer doctors, clinical nurse specialists and staff across health boards. Velindre says its clinics, telephone support and shared care pathways are intended to identify treatment complications earlier and give patients faster access to specialist help. Immunotherapy uses the immune system to fight cancer. The trust explains that its side effects can differ from those caused by chemotherapy, making access to specialist advice an important part of treatment.
What the figures show, and what they do not
Velindre says the service has supported more than 1,000 patients. It reports an evaluation estimating that around 65% of immunotherapy toxicity-related emergency bed days were avoided, alongside estimated savings of £615,000. Those are the trust’s evaluation figures. The announcement does not supply the full calculation, comparison period or underlying patient data needed to reproduce them. Bed days measure time spent in hospital, so the percentage should not be read as a 65% reduction in the number of people admitted. The award recognises the team’s work. It does not establish that every patient will avoid a hospital stay or provide a comparison of cancer-treatment success rates.
Background and supporting figures
Where this sits
Emergency bed days are time in hospital, not the number of admissions. Do not substitute the latter measure for the former.
The award confirms recognition for the service; it does not establish comparative cancer treatment success.