Enhanced Supportive Care
This page gives you information about Enhanced Supportive Care (ESC).
What is Enhanced Supportive Care (ESC)?
ESC is available for people who have cancer. This includes during treatment and after treatment has finished.
ESC focuses on managing problems caused by the cancer or its treatment.
About Enhanced Supportive Care (ESC)
ESC was developed by Oncology and Palliative Medicine specialists at The Christie NHS Foundation Trust in Manchester. They appreciated people can experience a wide range of issues affecting their quality of life, even early on in a cancer diagnosis and during cancer treatment.
Within Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, ESC is provided by the Palliative Care and Oncology teams.
What we offer
- Telephone, virtual and face to face consultations with an ESC specialist nurse and/or doctor.
- An initial assessment of your needs.
- ESC nurse led regular follow up appointments.
- Individualised, patient centred care, focussing on what matters to you.
- Support with any symptoms during and after your cancer treatment.
- Referrals to other specialist teams, for example dietitians, physiotherapists, occupational therapists, psychologists and benefits advisors.
- Discussions around the benefits and burdens of continuing with cancer treatment.
- Advance care planning (a term used to describe planning for when your future health may not be as good as it is now).
- Provide you with the details of relevant online, local and regional support networks.
- Practical advice and support.
We work closely with your oncologist and will inform your GP about any management we introduce.
When will I be referred to ESC?
ESC is available to you at any stage but would usually be offered shortly after your cancer has been diagnosed.
Does ESC work?
Research shows that access to supportive care helps patients to feel better through the early and later stages of cancer care.
ESC can help to reduce the potential of being admitted to hospital in an emergency. Also, ESC can help in enabling people to remain at home.
Contact information
Acknowledgement
The information on this page is based on a leaflet from NHS England, ‘Enhanced Supportive Care’.