Standards of care

Leukaemia Care’s new Standards of Care set out 19 agreed benchmarks to ensure every leukaemia patient receives consistent, holistic support - from emotional wellbeing to financial advice. Developed with patients and professionals, these standards aim to close gaps in care and create lasting change across the UK cancer community.

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Because every leukaemia patient deserves the same quality of care

Read the 19 Standards of Care

Read the report on the development of the Standards of Care

Across the UK, too many leukaemia patients still face gaps in emotional, psychological, practical, and financial support. While clinical treatment has advanced, access to truly holistic care remains inconsistent.

Our Standards of Care project changes that. It sets out 19 clear, consensus-backed standards to ensure that every patient receives the right support, at the right time, wherever they are on their journey.

Why this project matters

Leukaemia Care’s latest research found:

Patients’ wider needs are often unmet beyond diagnosis and treatment.
Access to key support services, like a Clinical Nurse Specialist (CNS), varies between leukaemia types.
Emotional, psychological, and financial challenges frequently go unaddressed.

These disparities inspired our mission: to create a unifying framework of care so that all leukaemia patients can expect the same high standard of support.

How the standards were developed

This national framework was built with patients, nurses, and healthcare leaders — not just for them.
We carried out a three-stage process:

Research: Reviewing evidence on effective interventions such as care planning, health education, and empathetic nursing.
Working Groups: Bringing together patients and professionals to co-develop draft standards.
Consensus Meetings: Reaching agreement (minimum 75%) across clinicians, patients, and national cancer bodies.

The result? 19 Standards of Care - each one defining what consistent, equitable support should look like for everyone affected by leukaemia, MPNs, and MDS.

Key principles within the Standards

Every patient should have a named specialist haematology nurse as their key worker.
Support must include emotional, psychological, practical, and financial care - not just clinical treatment.
Patients should receive clear, accessible information at diagnosis and throughout their journey.
Services must offer ongoing, proactive contact, not just one-off interventions.
Hospitals and commissioners should work with third-sector organisations like Leukaemia Care to deliver truly holistic care.

Looking ahead

Our next step is to work with healthcare providers, cancer alliances, and policymakers to embed these standards into everyday practice.
Together, we can close the gap between medical treatment and emotional wellbeing, ensuring that every patient receives the care they both need and deserve.

If you’re a healthcare professional, policymaker, or patient advocate who wants to help bring these standards to life, we’d love to hear from you.

Get involved: campaigns@leukaemiacare.org.uk

Read the full report and 19 standards of care by clicking here