NHS is struggling to improve cancer care
pharmafile | March 16, 2015 | News story | Sales and Marketing | CRUK, Cancer, Department of Health, NHS, NHS England, oncology
The Department of Health and NHS England are struggling with the demand required to improve its cancer services according to a new government report.
MPs in the Public Accounts Committee suggest that the NHS’ drive to improve its cancer services has ‘lost momentum’ over the last two years.
“More and more people are getting cancer but the resources available to support improvement have gone down,” says the chair of the committee, Margaret Hodge.
“Survival rates for cancer continue to improve, but nearly a third of people still die within a year of being diagnosed and around half do not survive for five years, placing the UK in a poor position when compared with the rest of Europe.”
The report notes that the NHS is struggling to meet waiting time standards and that leadership has also been lost.
Sarah Woolnough who the executive director of policy at Cancer Research UK, says: “The report starkly illustrates the challenges facing existing cancer services and the loss of momentum in delivering improvements in recent years.”
The study also reveals that the target for 85% of cancer patients to be treated within 62 days of GP referral was overlooked in 2014, meaning 5,500 patients had to wait more than two months to be seen.
Woolnough adds: “It is depressing that too many patients are waiting longer than they should for their diagnosis and effective treatment.”
‘New era’ for NHS
Improvements are being attempted in order to advance health outcomes within the NHS, for example the UK government is investing £200 million in sites across the country to give healthcare professionals the chance to implement their own ideas for refining patient care.
Meanwhile the Cancer Drugs Fund still causes much debate. After announcing its updated CDF list in January striking off 25 oncology treatments, the NHS just recently performed a U-turn on whether to fund breast cancer drug Novartis’ Afinitor (everolimus) for example.
As three-in-five cancers are diagnosed in people aged over 65, the new government report is also recommending that more should be done to understand better the impact of age on access to cancer treatment and outcomes.
Tom Robinson
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