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Written question asked by Laurence Robertson (Conservative) on Wednesday, 12 October 2016, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 17 October 2016 (named day). It was answered by David Mowat (Conservative) on Monday, 17 October 2016 on behalf of the Department of Health.

Cancer: Medical Treatments

Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to ensure improvement in cancer treatment in those areas identified in the Macmillan Cancer Support survey, published in October 2016, as requiring such improvement.

Answer

The independent Cancer Taskforce published its report, Achieving World-Class Cancer Outcomes: A strategy for England 2015-2020, in July 2015 and its implementation plan in May 2016 to represent the consensus views of the whole cancer community.

The Government has accepted all 96 recommendations in the strategy, which will address the concerns raised in Macmillan Cancer Support’s survey around funding, prevention, diagnostics, workforce and support after treatment when implemented. Implementation is being led by NHS England’s National Cancer Transformation Board, which will publish its first annual progress report shortly.

In line with the recommendations to improve prevention, the Government has published a national childhood obesity strategy and new low risk drinking guidelines. We have also announced funding of up to £300 million a year by 2020 to increase diagnostic capacity to meet the new target that patients will be given a definitive cancer diagnosis, or the all clear, within 28 days of being referred by a general practitioner.

To meet the workforce challenges of the future, Health Education England (HEE), supported by Cancer Research UK and Macmillan Cancer Support, has been leading on the independent Cancer Taskforce recommendation that it should develop a vision for the future shape and skills mix of the workforce required to deliver a modern, holistic patient-centred cancer service. HEE has completed an initial cancer workforce baseline review that has been shared and discussed with key stakeholders.

In September 2015, we also announced that by 2020, the 280,000 people diagnosed with cancer every year will benefit from a tailored recovery package. The packages will be individually designed to help each person live well beyond cancer. In April 2016, we published guidance for commissioners on commissioning and implementing the recovery package effectively.

Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
48256
Session
2016-17
Subjects
Cancer Medical treatments Standards Surveys Macmillan Cancer Support
Link
View this Written question on www.parliament.uk