Cancer plan 'in need of overhaul'
Cancer care needs to be continually reassessed, says today's report
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Thursday, 24, Aug 2006 08:23
The NHS should revisit its own strategy on tackling cancer in Britain to ensure that patients do not miss out on the latest technological and medical developments, a new report says.
Today's study from the King's Fund, a London-based charity campaigning for better health standards, says that if the 2000 cancer plan is not readdressed then sufferers are in danger of being adversely affected by demographical changes over the next quarter of a century.
It explains that the proportion of cancer sufferers aged over 65 is predicted to grow from 16 per cent to almost a quarter within the next 25 years.
Commissioned by Cancer Research UK, the King's Fund report says that 220,000 people are diagnosed with one form of cancer every year, leading to 128,000 deaths. It warns that the number of new cases is increasing by 1.4 per cent annually.
Dr Rebecca Rosen, senior fellow in health policy at the King's Fund, said: "The impact of recent NHS reform is gathering pace and it is essential that future cancer policy anticipates the challenges and opportunities of people living longer, technological changes and policy shifts throughout the NHS.
"We hope that this report will provide food for thought for the future of cancer services. The health service is changing, and cancer services will need support to adapt to this."
Among the suggestions made in today's report are that the NHS rebalances its resources in terms of prevention and treatment, issues more guidance on high-cost drugs and finally brings an end to the postcode lottery.
Earlier this summer Cancer Research UK launched a nationwide campaign calling on the government to plan further ahead for cancer services, with the charity's chief executive, Professor Alex Markham, describing the scheme as "massively successful".
"An ageing population, the resulting likelihood of a higher incidence of cancer, and more sophisticated and expensive treatments all mean that now is precisely the time when the NHS should be planning for the longer term. If patients are going to benefit from the advances that Cancer Research UK's work contributes to, then it is essential politicians start considering their strategies for the future now," he commented.
Commenting on today's report, Hilary Cross, deputy director of communications at charity Macmillan Cancer, said: "While there has been record investment in cancer services there is still more to be done.
"The ultimate challenge is to ensure patient-centred treatment and support for all in the future. A new cancer plan that addresses the emotional, financial and practical support needed for cancer patients and their families is vital to improve people's quality, not just quantity, of life," she said.
Sandra Gidley, Liberal Democrat spokesperson, said: "A second cancer plan must look beyond the NHS and ensure that patients have access to all the social support and benefits that they are entitled to.
"Prevention is key in the future battle to reduce deaths from cancer. Long-term planning in the NHS must include a full national programme to educate people about the signs of cancer and widely available screening, without long waiting times."
Responding to the report, health minister Caroline Flint said: "The first cancer plan was published in 2000 and sets out a ten-year strategy. We are still only six years into that strategy. Three updates have so far been published, the last one in 2004.
"We will keep the decision on whether to publish a second cancer plan under review."