UK cancer stats show north-south divide
pharmafile | August 20, 2013 | News story | Medical Communications, Research and Development, Sales and Marketing | CRUK, Cancer, north-south divide
A new search tool shows that the UK’s highest cancer mortality rates are focused in the north of England, while the lowest are found in London.
Data collected between 2009 and 2011 identify Liverpool, Manchester and Middlesbrough as the top three ‘hot spots’ for cancer-related deaths in Britain.
Conversely, the three lowest mortality rates were reported by London health authorities – in Kensington and Chelsea, Westminster and Harrow.
The former Liverpool Primary Care Trust reported nearly 240 deaths per 100,000 while Kensington and Chelsea PCT on the other hand recorded just under 124 deaths, nearly half its northern counterpart’s figure.
The PCTs have since been abolished, with these areas divided up into clinical commissioning groups, run by GPs.
The new tool, launched by charity Cancer Research UK and freely available to use on its website, is built on data gathered by government sources, including the NHS, Public Health England and the Office for National Statistics.
The figures raise questions about discrepancies between services in wealthy and deprived areas of the country. Some of the worst cancer survival rates are found in low-income areas such as Barking and Dagenham in London, while Westminster occupies the top spot.
Cancer Research UK hopes this new search tool will draw further attention to these variations and to how health authorities are performing nationally.
Charity representative Sarah Hiom, said: “We’ve created this website because we hope that it will allow policy-makers and healthcare professionals to understand what’s going on in their area and support local insight and decision-making.”
Other searchable data include screening and early diagnosis rates – the tool also allows users to directly compare regions of their choice.
Smoking rates are listed among the data, as are incidence rates of individual types of cancer, including lung, breast, cervical, bowel and prostate.
London Cancer chief executive Charlotte Williams said: “It’s easier to identify where we’re doing well, and where we could do better, and how we could potentially learn from others. This [tool] will pinpoint where we need to improve to help ensure everyone gets the best care possible.”
Hugh McCafferty
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