NHS funding boost for cancer diagnosis
pharmafile | March 8, 2010 | News story | | Cancer, NHS, disease awareness campaigns
The government is to put £8 million into finding new ways of improving early cancer diagnosis for one or more of the three biggest killers.
PCTs can bid for up to £100,000 to run public information and outreach campaigns to highlight the need for patients who suspect they have symptoms of breast, colorectal or lung cancer.
The impact of the campaigns will be measured so that the most effective can be repeated across the country.
Health Minister Ann Keen said: “As a nurse I know that to give patients the best chance of survival we need to catch cancer early. Our aim is to save up to 10,000 extra lives a year through early diagnosis and intervention.
“These local campaigns will encourage patients with symptoms to seek help earlier and builds on the Prime Minister’s recent pledge to give patients the results of their diagnostic tests within one week.”
Cancer patients in England tend to have more advanced disease at diagnosis, and the government says this is a factor in England’s poorer survival rates compared to other comparable healthcare systems.
Cancer Research UK Chief Executive Harpal Kumar said: “Local campaigns and investment in new diagnostic services will also encourage GPs to ‘play it safe’ and refer patients for tests if they have any doubt.
“This campaign is part of a critically important programme of work designed to ensure that patients in the UK have their cancers detected as early as possible.”
Kumar added: “All too often cancer is found at a late stage when it’s harder to treat. For example, 90% of bowel cancers can be cured if treated early but only 13% are detected at the earliest stage.
Through the investment, PCTs will be given a pack of social marketing examples. These will include the ‘Doncaster Cough Campaign’, which promoted awareness that a persistent cough could mean lung cancer.
The campaign used a number of innovative ideas including a ‘coughing’ bus shelter, where sound chips coughed repeatedly to draw attention to the symptom and the PCT saw the proportion of patients diagnosed early increase from 11% to 19%.
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