Twelfth Report - Cancer services
Select Committee
Health and Social Care Committee
HC 551
5 April 2022
Recommendations
5 results
7
Acknowledged
Para 63
The Government and NHS England must set out detailed plans for how the £2.3 billion...
Recommendation
The Government and NHS England must set out detailed plans for how the £2.3 billion investment in Community Diagnostic Centres will be utilised, in particular detailing how many additional CT, MRI and PET-CT scanners and endoscopy suites the investment will …
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Government Response Summary
The government acknowledges the recommendation by referencing the Delivery Plan for Tackling the COVID-19 Backlog of Elective Care and stating CDCs delivered over 880,000 diagnostic tests in 2021/22, projecting 17 million more tests over the next three years, increasing annual capacity by 9 million tests by March 2025, but does not give detail regarding additional scanners etc.
Department of Health and Social Care
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8
Acknowledged
Para 64
The Government and NHS England must also develop a specific plan to address gaps in...
Recommendation
The Government and NHS England must also develop a specific plan to address gaps in the diagnostic workforce, setting out how it will address both short-term and long- term shortages in key professions, and particularly what investment will be required …
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Government Response Summary
Health Education England invested £52 million in 2021/22 in the cancer and diagnostics workforce and the Government's forthcoming 10 Year Cancer Plan will set a new vision for cancer care, and the Department commissioned HEE to review long term strategic trends for the health workforce.
Department of Health and Social Care
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11
Acknowledged
The static trajectory in early diagnosis demands that the Government’s new plan for cancer services...
Recommendation
The static trajectory in early diagnosis demands that the Government’s new plan for cancer services must include a clear action plan for achieving the 75% early diagnosis ambition which goes beyond current plans and considers much more radical proposals to …
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Government Response Summary
The government welcomes the recognition of its work to diagnose 75% of cancers by 2028 and lists existing priorities, but doesn't commit to any new or radical action to achieve the target.
Department of Health and Social Care
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14
Acknowledged
Para 88
Based on these estimates the Department of Health and Social Care and NHS England should...
Recommendation
Based on these estimates the Department of Health and Social Care and NHS England should set out: a) an estimate of what level of additional capacity in NHS cancer services will be needed to address the backlog in cancer services …
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Government Response Summary
Cancer diagnosis and treatment has remained a top priority and there were over 4.9 million urgent referrals and over 600,000 people started cancer treatment between March 2020 and March 2022 and describes existing NHS Long Term Plan ambitions on early cancer diagnosis and actions local systems are required to take.
Department of Health and Social Care
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25
Acknowledged
Para 130
The new Office for Health Improvement and Disparities should review the drivers of disparities in...
Recommendation
The new Office for Health Improvement and Disparities should review the drivers of disparities in cancer outcomes and develop a joint strategy with NHS England to address these disparities.
Government Response Summary
The government states they remain committed to levelling up outcomes across the UK and are planning on publishing the Health Disparities White Paper later this year to break the link between people’s backgrounds and their prospects for a healthy life.
Department of Health and Social Care
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Conclusions (3) Observations and findings — click to expand
5
Conclusion
Acknowledged
Para 61
We understand the rationale for simplifying the Cancer Waiting Times standards. It is important that NHS cancer services are given a clear set of targets to achieve and that these targets are the ones that are most important to patients. However, we note that there are no current plans to …
Government Response Summary
The government acknowledged the importance of a quick cancer diagnosis, referring to the Delivery Plan for Tackling the COVID-19 Backlog of Elective Care and investment in Community Diagnostic Centres to increase diagnostic capacity and reduce waiting times.
9
Conclusion
Acknowledged
Para 70
There is huge potential in NHS cancer data, and a large amount of data from NHS cancer services is already collected and reported. However, there is significant room for improvement, particularly in reducing the two years it takes to collect and publish data on cancer stage. A major overhaul of …
Government Response Summary
The government welcomes the committee's recognition of work underway to diagnose 75% of cancers by 2028, highlighting six priorities to increase early diagnosis and stating it is premature to suggest progress is off track.
15
Conclusion
Acknowledged
Para 95
For patients with limited treatment options the approval of a new drug or therapy can make a significant difference even when the survival benefit is only months. Despite the effectiveness of the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency’s regulatory process, and despite some progress by NICE in approving medicines more …
Government Response Summary
The government acknowledges that the drug approval process is too slow but states that NICE is committed to publishing guidance around the time of licensing and has consistently delivered on this commitment in the majority of cases.