Nurses

Head & Neck Oncology Nurses

Head and neck oncology nurses are a group of specialised nursing professionals involved in the management and treatment of cancer of the head and neck.

We comprise over 100 members with the desire to encourage discussion and sharing of knowledge amongst nurses involved in the management of head and neck cancer. Since establishing our own steering committee group in April 1997, made up of experienced senior Clinical Nurse Specialists who have extensive experience in the field of head and neck cancer, we have become a very active professional group within BAHNO and encourage new members to get involved with our activities. We run a dedicated website (https://bahnon.org.uk/), run a biannual national conference and release a quarterly email newsletter, under the title of British Association of Head & Neck Oncology Nurses (BAHNON). BAHNON facilitates the sharing of knowledge and influences practice by contributing nationally and locally to innovations in practice.

The following highlight the achievements of the group:

· Is a registered stakeholder with NICE for the consultation on Head and Neck Quality Standards.

· Involved in the publication of the latest NICE guidance for Upper Aerodigestive Tract Cancers.

· Influence the nursing aspects of the new national audit tool (HANA) by contributing to the steering group.

· Contributed a chaper to the ENT UK guidelines published in 2016.

Other group achievements include:

Active within the Cancer Nursing Partnership group working closely with the UK Oncology Nursing Society (UKONS) and a committee member currently sits on both the radiotherapy and skin care groups.

Work closely with our consultant and AHP colleagues and represent the interests of nursing within BAHNO.

In 2016 contributed to the first parallel sessions for nurses and AHP’s at BAHNO annual scientific meeting. NON facilitates sharing of ideas between nurses working within the field of head and neck cancer.