Update on PCN Cancer Navigator Service
Tuesday, 14 July 2026Date: 14th July 2026
Southport and Formby Primary Care Network (PCN) is currently reviewing all its services following a significant and recurring reduction in our annual core funding. To ensure we can continue to meet our legal and contractual requirements to provide essential GP services to our 129,000 patients, we are having to make very difficult decisions regarding non-contractual services. One of the services under formal review is the Cancer Navigator contract, currently delivered by staff at the Southport Macmillan Cancer Centre. We have met with the team at the centre to notify them of this review and will continue to keep them up to date pending any final decisions.
We wish to make the following points clear to our patients and the public:
- Current Service: The Cancer Navigator service remains fully operational and funded until at least 31st March 2027.
- The Macmillan Centre: The Southport Macmillan Cancer Centre is an independent organisation. While our specific funding for cancer navigator posts is under review, the Centre itself has indicated that it intends to remain open to provide information and support to the local community.
- Continued Support: Regardless of the outcome of this review, GP practices in Southport and Formby remain fully committed to supporting patients with a cancer diagnosis.
As a PCN, we have already made difficult internal changes, including staff redundancies and structural reorganisation to protect frontline patient care. We value the work of the navigators, but our priority must be to ensure the long-term sustainability of the core services that every resident relies upon.