During the COVID-19 pandemic, unprecedented strain was placed on healthcare systems across the globe. Many patients saw elective surgeries and non-urgent appointments cancelled but essential services like cancer needed to continue to prevent disease progression and reduce mortality.
The Oxford Sarcoma Service at the Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre (one of five nationally approved centres in England for the treatment of rare bone tumours and sarcomas) saw itself urgently needing to reorganise its structure of cancer care.
To ensure continuation of its services whilst minimising transmission among its patients the Oxford Sarcoma Service was re-structured based on the guidelines issued by the National Health Service (NHS) and the British Orthopaedic Oncology Society (BOOS).
A number of changes were implemented without compromising on delivery of a high standard of care to patients, and its experiences have been published in The Journal of Clinical Orthopaedics and Trauma to serve as a guide to similar units managing bone and soft tissue tumours.