G288(P) Volunteering to improve paediatric oncology services in low-middle income countries

PurposeConsulting with current volunteers in World Child Cancer (WCC) projects, to help us to expand our volunteering strategy. WCC’s model has been to support ‘twinning’ partnerships between paediatric oncology institutions in high income countries and LMICs with healthcare volunteers visiting for short periods of time once or twice a year to assist staff training, support and sharing clinical expertise.MethodsWCC held a workshop including 8 volunteers with their experience of WCC programmes in Ghana, Myanmar, Malawi, Cameroon and Bangladesh. These volunteers hold diverse expertise including paediatric oncology, paediatric oncology nursing, counselling and patient support.ResultsWhat is currently working well: Volunteering with WCC has helped to improve childhood cancer services in LMICs by increasing capacity, professional confidence to care for children with cancer, and increasing survival rates in the hospitals. Involvement is sustainable using a team approach with volunteers returning repeatedly and inducting new volunteers as well. Volunteers noted WCC’s flexibility and support for implementing new ways of working. Following visits, volunteers remain connected to WCC’s work and placements are mutually beneficial as volunteers bring new knowledge/skills back to their roles at home. Steps to improve impact of volunteers: Expand beyond current paediatric oncology units to improve healthcare systems by involving volunteers with a wider range of expertise, such as psycho–social support, surgery and pathology, always working with local teams to identify the most beneficial expertise Expand beyond specific twinning institutions to include individual volunteers from other sources Support volunteers on longer–term placements alongside existing twinning partnerships aiming to strengthen and embed knowledge/skills Expand and improve digital volunteering opportunities and facilities Formalise recruitment and assessment processes to ensure high quality volunteersConclusionWCC’s volunteering strategy has worked well for the past 10 years, building long-lasting relationships and improving the capacity of healthcare professionals in LMICs to care for children with cancer. Based on learning from programmes and the workshop, WCC will expand its approach to involve professionals with wider areas of expertise, include volunteers on longer-term placements, improve digital volunteering opportunities and formalise recruitment and assessment processes.