London cancer network splits

The body, which was set up in 2012 and funded by contributions from its 15 member trusts, was wound up at the end of March.

Its staff were hosted by Royal Marsden Foundation Trust and worked on making cancer pathways more efficient to decrease mortality.

The staff will be transferred to a new body, RM Partners, also hosted by the Royal Marsden, which will work with trusts in south west and north west London.

The south east London trusts, Guy’s and St Thomas’ Foundation Trust, King’s College Hospital Foundation Trust and Lewisham and Greenwich Trust will set up their own network led by Guy’s and St Thomas’.

Minutes of an LCA members board meeting last year said King’s Health Partners, the academic health science centre based around King’s College London, were disappointed the original configuration of trusts could not have been submitted as a new care models vanguard bid.

The latest cancer data shows performance has declined across the capital over the past four years, but at a slightly lower rate than has been seen nationally.