The government’s decision to abandon a particular cancer strategy is a “catastrophic decision that will cost lives,” experts warn.
Sajid Javid declared a “national war on cancer” and promised to create a 10-year plan to improve care when he was health secretary.
But Steve Barclay, who now holds the post, announced last month that the plan would be abandoned in favor of a “key situation strategy”.
All major diseases such as cardiovascular diseases, chronic respiratory diseases, dementia, mental diseases and musculoskeletal diseases are investigated.
Health Secretary Steve Barclay, who visited Kingston Hospital in south-west London this month, scrapped the ten-year plan in favor of a “major disease strategy” which would look at all major conditions, including chronic respiratory diseases and dementia
The move was criticized by leading charities, with Macmillan saying it “rejected” the 10-year beat cancer plan promised by ministers, while the CatchUpWithCancer campaign said it was “deeply concerned”.
Now experts writing in the British Medical Journal (BMJ) have also expressed dismay at the move, arguing that a dedicated cancer plan is needed now more than ever.
While survivability has improved, the UK lags behind much of Europe and the gap will continue to widen unless the backlog caused by Covid is addressed.
Professor Richard Sullivan of the Institute for Cancer Policy at King’s College London and Dr. Ajay Aggarwal, from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, said the government’s decision “reflects decades of global consensus that specialized cancer plans are needed to provide safe, fair and quality cancer care”.
They added: “Putting cancer on a general NCD agenda simply shows that cancer is no longer a political priority or an expression of a government’s unwillingness to confront its complexity and rising costs.”
The pair cited a National Audit Office (NAO) study showing that less than half of NHS trusts expect to meet key recovery and cancer targets by the end of the year, casting “serious doubt over the targets for 2025”. cause to arise diagnostic capacity, funding and productivity”.
A long-term cancer plan “is more important than ever” after more than a decade of declining funding for cancer treatments, exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic, experts say
They added: “Cancer is the leading cause of death in the UK and one of the most serious health burdens on society.
“Delivering effective and equitable care requires the coordination of a multitude of interdependent cancer-specific pathways…
“For example, the UK NHS has 60 radiation centres, 50 prostate cancer surgery centres, 163 colon cancer centers and 176 chemotherapy units, not including specialist diagnostics, which are only available in selected hospitals.
“The strategic alignment and coordination of all these services requires both a cancer-specific plan and a set of operational tools to address issues of centralization and variation in practice to avoid disparities in access and outcomes.”
The experts said a long-term cancer plan was “more critical than ever” after more than a “decade of declining funding for cancer treatments, exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic”.
They added: “Such a plan must address the post-pandemic backlog of care: sicker patients with more advanced cancers and massive shortages of cancer-specific manpower.”
The couple said that without a specific long-term plan for cancer, services “will collapse, costs will rise, inequalities will widen, and patients will experience even greater delays that lead directly to deaths.”
Figures show 2022 saw the worst waiting times for cancer, with more than 50,000 people waiting more than two weeks for a specialist after an urgent GP referral – more than 10 times the number a decade ago.
As record numbers start treatment, the number of people missing out on timely care is rising at a much faster rate, cancer charities warn.
Treatment delays meant that around 25,000 people in England with a confirmed diagnosis had to wait more than a month last year, five times as many as in 2012.
DR Ian Walker, Executive Director of Policy and Information at Cancer Research UK, said: “Cancer survival rates in the UK lag behind peer countries and patients face unacceptable waiting times for cancer diagnosis and life-saving treatment.
“With the growing number of people likely to be diagnosed with cancer in the coming years, we face an enormous task.
“The UK Government needs to take a long-term approach to transforming cancer care and giving it the attention it deserves.
“This must include bold action to eliminate smoking, a rapid increase in diagnostic capacity and investment in research to find new ways to prevent, diagnose and treat cancer so that we can improve cancer survival for all.” ‘
A spokesperson for the Department of Health and Social Care said: “We are focused on tackling cancer on all fronts – prevention, diagnosis, treatment, research and funding – so that we can achieve the best possible outcomes for patients.
More patients are diagnosed earlier and start treatment. From 2021, 92 community diagnostic centers will open, carrying out more than 3 million tests, scans and examinations, including for the detection of cancer. We also recently announced a £10m investment in additional breast cancer screening units and software and service upgrades.
“By tackling cancer together with other diseases in a common strategy, we can focus on similarities in approach and ensure that treatment is patient-centred.”
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Crystal Leahy is an author and health journalist who writes for The Fashion Vibes. With a background in health and wellness, Crystal has a passion for helping people live their best lives through healthy habits and lifestyles.
