A visiting team from the NHS Surrey and Sussex Cancer Alliance will be delivering a CPD (Continuing Professional Development) session for all GHA General Practitioners on May 13th and 14th. The visit has been funded by Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Gibraltar and will have a strong focus on improving early cancer diagnosis, the detection of vague symptoms and enhancing patient outcomes.

The session will cover areas such as recognising red flag symptoms and vague presentations, the utilisation of cancer risk assessment tools effectively, the implementation of robust safety netting processes with special attention to pancreatic cancer, one of the most challenging cancers to diagnose early.

Chairperson of Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Gibraltar, Mr Louis Baldachino, expressed pride for the charity to be sponsoring the visit of the NHS Surrey and Sussex Cancer Alliance team, who will deliver two CPD sessions for all GHA General Practitioners. He thanked Dr Joanna Thomson and Lee Foster for travelling to Gibraltar to lead these sessions, which aim to enhance early cancer detection, particularly for hard-to-detect cancers like Pancreatic Cancer. Highlighting that the average survival rate for pancreatic cancer in Gibraltar has been just nine months over the past eight years, he emphasised the importance of this educational initiative. He also extended gratitude to Dr Andrew Gordon and Dr Elaine Pincho of the GHA for their vital support in making these sessions a reality.

GHA Director General, Kevin McGee, said: “Early detection is key to improving cancer survival rates. This CPD aims to equip GPs with up-to-date knowledge and clinical insights to help detect cancer earlier and support patients through timely referral and intervention. I would like to express my sincere thanks to the Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Gibraltar charity for arranging and sponsoring the visit from these NHS experts.”

The Minister for Health and Care, the Hon Gemma Arias-Vasquez, added: “Early diagnosis is extremely important. This training will strengthen our GPs’ ability to detect cancer early, particularly in complex cases like pancreatic cancer. I’m grateful to Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Gibraltar and our visiting NHS professionals for making this possible.”