MPs have criticised cancer care in England, saying the push to improve services has “lost momentum”.
Drawing upon evidence from cancer charities and experts, the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has published a report exploring cancer care and outcomes in England.
The report shows that initial attempts to improve cancer care were effective, but that there has been a dip in performance over the past two years.
In particular the NHS is struggling to meet the targets which have been set.
Waiting time targets, which state 85% of patients should receive treatment within 62 days of being urgently referred by a GP, were missed in the first three-quarters of 2014.
This means that 5,500 patients had their treatment delayed for more than 62 days in July and September last year.
Cancer survival rates were described as “poor” and are still amongst the worst in Europe. Access to treatment for patients over the age of 65 was also criticised.
“Depressing”
Sarah Woolnough, executive director of policy at Cancer Research UK, said: “It is depressing that too many patients are waiting longer than they should for their diagnosis and effective treatment.”
“We hope the report will urgently catalyse NHS England, the Department of Health and others charged with providing cancer care to deliver the best for all patients, no matter their age, the cancer they suffer from or where they live.”
Margaret Hodge, chair of the Public Accounts Committee, said: “With more than one in three people developing cancer in their lifetime, cancer touches the lives of all of us at some point, and the Department of Health spends over £6.7bn on cancer services a year.”
“That is why it is so concerning that the Department of Health and NHS England have lost momentum in the drive to improve cancer services in the last two years.”
“More and more people are getting cancer but the resources available to support improvement have gone down.”
Delayed cancer care
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