Cancer Clinical Nurse Specialists (CNSs) are expert nurses who provide advanced, patient‑centred care to people affected by cancer pathway. The role comprises of four pillars of practice;
- Clinical Practice
- Leadership and Management
- Education
- Research and Audit
Together, these four pillars enable cancer CNSs to deliver expert clinical care, lead and improve services, empower patients and professionals through education, and contribute to ongoing improvements in cancer outcomes and experience. The National Cancer Plan for England (2026) explicitly positions Cancer Clinical Nurse Specialists as central to personalised care delivery, workforce leadership, patient and staff education, and continuous service improvement, aligning directly with all four pillars of CNS professional practice.
The Northeast and Yorkshire Macmillan CNS Development Programme
Stakeholders from within the North East and Yorkshire (NEY) region identified that to meet the needs of people living with cancer now and in the future, a structured approach to workforce development for Cancer Nurse Specialists (CNS) needed to be undertaken to address a clear shortage of the CNS workforce. The NEY Macmillan CNS Development Programme was created in partnership with NHS England Workforce, Training (NHSE WTE), the four North East and Yorkshire Cancer Alliances (Humber and North Yorkshire, Northern, South Yorkshire and Bassetlaw, and West Yorkshire and Harrogate) and Macmillan Cancer Support. Hosted by West Yorkshire and Harrogate Cancer Alliance and aligned to the Macmillan Workforce Strategy and the Aspirant Cancer Career and Education Development (ACCEND) framework, the programme successfully recruited 42 aspiring CNSs and mentors across 20 NHS Trusts, encompassing nine cancer specialties. The programme was commenced in September 2022 and completed 2 years later. 90% of those who completed the programme have been employed in a substantive CNS post.
The formal evaluation and report of the programme to inform and support future workforce development approaches for health care professionals across the NHS is available to read here: http://NEY Macmillan CNS Workforce Development Programme Evaluation Report :: West Yorkshire and Harrogate Cancer Alliance
The National CNS Development Forum
In response to the success of the NEY Macmillan CNS Development programme West Yorkshire and Harrogate Cancer Alliance founded a national forum to provide a channel to share the delivery of best practice models and resources to support and secure cancer Clinical Nurse Specialist (CNS) development and transformation. Chaired by Sarah Grant, Workforce Programme Manager, WY&H Cancer Alliance and Claire Taylor MBE, Chief Nursing Officer at Macmillan Cancer Support, the forum provides an equal opportunity to stakeholders across all 4 UK nations, including Cancer Alliances, NHS E Workforce, Training & Education (WTE), Trusts and voluntary organisations. It supports alignment to national workforce programmes and agendas including the Aspirant Cancer Career and Education Development (ACCEND) framework.
The forum has identified 4 key areas of focus and set up workstreams to address them;
- Inspiring the future pipeline of aspiring cancer CNSs
- Developing and supporting new Cancer CNSs
- Developing and supporting established cancer CNSs
- Support and guidance for CNS mentors and Assessors
- Alignment to the ACCEND framework
