Health Bill ignores research, says charity
pharmafile | June 3, 2011 | News story | | Cancer Research UK, NHS, trials
The Health and Social Care Bill has ignored the opportunity to place clinical research at the heart of the NHS, according to Cancer Research UK.
CRUK, a research-led charity, says the government has missed a trick by not using the Health Bill to put research at the forefront of the NHS.
This should be done because it can help improve the UK’s poor cancer rates and help support economic growth by encouraging investment. A group of leading academics, including Professor Peter Johnson, chief clinician at CRUK, made the point in a letter to The Times.
“As clinicians working with Cancer Research UK, we regularly witness the enormous benefits of research for more than 30,000 patients who take part each year in trials funded by the charity,” says Johnson.
“We also know that patients treated for cancer in places where research is integral to care are more likely to survive the disease and often have faster access to new treatments.”
The letter says that the Bill is a “unique opportunity to capitalise on the UK’s world-class science base” and the investment made in research over the last decade, but is failing to make the most of this.
The charity is also concerned about the future of research in the UK, as the new groups responsible for the NHS have not yet been given responsibility for research. Currently strategic health authorities (SHAs) are responsible for clinical research in the NHS, but are soon to be abolished by the Bill. Under the current plans in the Health and Social Care Bill, GP-led consortia will assume responsibility at a local level, overseen by a Commissioning Board by 2013.
CRUK said it is vital that the new Commissioning Board and every consortium has a clear duty to promote clinical research once SHAs disappear.
This must be made a priority, as it will ultimately improve survival for cancer patients, the letter concludes.
The charity’s comment in The Times comes at the end of the government’s ‘listening exercise’ consultation on the Health Bill. Many healthcare groups have responded to this consultation, making major changes look increasingly likely. An independent review will now be undertaken and be presented to the government by the end of June.
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