Macmillan Cancer Support and NHS Shetland are working in partnership to improve the support provided to people affected by cancer, by way of the Improving the Cancer Journey service.
Improving the Cancer Journey service in Shetland
The Improving the Cancer Journey (ICJ) service offers adults affected by cancer, including families, friends and carers, the chance to have a conversation with a dedicated Link Worker to discuss needs and help access tailored information and support.
Cancer doesn't just affect your physical wellbeing, it can affect every aspect of your life. ICJ aims to provide a personable and flexible service to help people affected by cancer get the support they need, whether it's financial, emotional, medical or practical. The service provides additional help to individuals as part of their network of support from other services, third sector and clinical care teams.
The Macmillan funded service is being delivered by Shetland Community Connections and commissioned by NHS Shetland for the next 5 and a half years. ICJ has been highlighted by Scottish Government as an initiative that every Board in Scotland must have, and is part of a wider 10 year strategy for improving cancer care across the nation. The service has been live in Shetland since August 2024, with two Link Workers, Cherie Wallace and Julie Williamson, delivering support across the isles. Cherie moved to Shetland from NHS Lothian earlier in the year where she previously worked as a Radiographer. Julie has experience as a community connector and working in social care in Shetland.
Cherie Wallace said: “A journey that an individual can go on when receiving a cancer diagnosis can be complex, traumatic and sometimes lonely. We try to help solve many varied problems with practical and creative solutions, and hopefully make their journey slightly easier. We will always try and help however we can. Just recently we were helping to coordinate the care of a pet for an individual while they were staying in hospital. And for another person, we supported them with a meter reading.”
Julie Williamson said: “We check in with patients and their family and we can help signpost people to other third sector services, support with referrals and be a key point of contact to isolated or vulnerable patients. ICJ is a mobile and accessible service. We are happy to make home visits, but also have phone calls, or correspond over email.”
NHS Shetland Chief Executive Brian Chittick, shared his thoughts about the service. He said: “This is a project that I was involved in from inception whilst in my previous role which involved Shetland, Orkney and Western Isles. It has taken a while designing the pathway which is specific for each area. It is a great service and I am so happy to see the Link Workers Julie and Cherie in place supporting our community. NHS Shetland is keen to support our patients and this new pathway through our commitment to partnership working to ensure best outcomes for our community.”
An individual is able to self-refer to the ICJ service. Upon referral an ICJ Link Worker will contact you to inform you about the service and schedule an appointment which will involve a conversation about any needs or concerns you need support with. Prior to this conversation you will be asked to complete a holistic needs assessment which is a simple checklist of any needs and concerns you may have. Through this conversation a care plan can be created with additional information about local services that may be of benefit to you. The ICJ Link Worker will keep in touch to ensure that the concerns or needs raised are improving and that they remain as a point of contact should you require further support.
The ICJ Shetland Link Workers will be visiting Tesco on Saturday 16 November, between 10am – 2pm, where they will host a table with additional information and resources, and be able to provide help and support with how to self-refer to the service.
To find out more information about Improving the Cancer Journey please visit
For general enquiries please contact
Telephone: 01595 745081
Email: ICJ@shetland.org