Sunday 19 July, 2015 TASKFORCE REPORT AIMS TO BOOST CANCER SURVIVAL AND TRANSFORM PATIENT EXPERIENCE SIX STRATEGIC pririties have tday (Sunday) been recmmended by the Independent Cancer Taskfrce t help the NHS achieve wrld-class cancer utcmes. The cancer reprt* utlines hw an additinal 30,000 patients every year culd survive cancer fr 10 years r mre by 2020. Of these, arund 11,000 wuld be thrugh earlier diagnsis. The plan, which aims t make substantial imprvements in cancer care in England, cmes at a time when cancer cases are increasing. 280,000 peple were diagnsed with cancer in England in 2013/14 and this is expected t reach mre than 300,000 by 2020, and mre than 360,000 by 2030. One in tw peple will develp cancer at sme pint in their lives. With survival rates als increasing each year, mre peple are living with cancer. The reprt sets ut prpsals fr hw patient experience can be transfrmed bth during and after treatment. This hike in cancer cases, driven largely by the UK s ageing ppulatin, means that NHS cancer services are under unprecedented pressure. Reslving the pressure has been a key fcus fr the Taskfrce. The six strategic pririties are: A radical upgrade in preventin and public health. The strategy utlines hw the NHS shuld wrk with the Gvernment t imprve public health, including adpting a new tbacc cntrl strategy within the next 12 mnths, and a natinal actin plan n besity. The Taskfrce wants t see a reductin in smking frm 18.4 per cent nw, t less than 13 per cent by 2020. A natinal ambitin t achieve earlier diagnsis. The ambitin set ut is that, by 2020, 95 per cent f patients referred fr testing by a GP are definitively diagnsed with cancer, r cancer is ruled ut, and that patients get this result within fur weeks. This requires a significant increase in diagnstic capacity, giving GPs direct access t key investigative tests, and the testing f new mdels which culd reduce the burden and reliance n GPs. Currently, patients urgently referred fr suspected cancer by their GP need t be seen by a specialist within 14 days f referral, but n guidance exists fr when patients can expect t get the results. Patient experience n a par with clinical effectiveness and safety. The strategy recmmends giving all cnsenting patients electrnic access t all test results and ther cmmunicatins invlving further care by 2020. Patients shuld als have access t a clinical nurse specialist r ther key wrker t help crdinate their care. The NHS must cntinue t develp and adpt meaningful ways t measure a patient s experience, including the annual Cancer Patient Experience Survey.
Transfrmatin in supprt fr peple living with and beynd cancer. By 2020 every persn with cancer shuld have access t elements f a Recvery Package a cmprehensive plan that utlines treatment as well as pst-treatment supprt and care. A natinal quality f life metric shuld be develped by 2017 t ensure better supprt fr peple after treatment has ended. Clinical Cmmissining Grups (CCGs) must ensure they cmmissin apprpriate End f Life care, in accrdance with NICE guidelines and the Chice Review. Investment t deliver a mdern high-quality service, including: A replacement plan fr raditherapy machines (linacs) as they reach 10-years and upgrading f existing linacs by the time they have been peratinal fr six years; A permanent and sustainable mdel fr the Cancer Drugs Fund t help patients get access t innvative cancer treatments; A natinally-cmmissined, reginally-delivered, mlecular diagnstics service, t guide mre persnalised preventin, screening and treatment; Plans t address critical deficits in the cancer wrkfrce. Overhauled prcesses fr cmmissining, accuntability and prvisin. Clearer expectatins need t be set by the end f 2015 fr hw cancer services shuld be cmmissined, with mst treatment then being cmmissined at ppulatin sizes abve CCG level. By 2016, a netwrk f Cancer Alliances shuld be established acrss the cuntry. These will bring tgether key partners at a lcal level, including patients. The Alliances wuld use a dashbard f key metrics t address variatin and supprt service redesign. The Taskfrce has recmmended that a Natinal Cancer Team (NCT) shuld versee the delivery f the Strategy. Harpal Kumar, chair f the Independent Cancer Taskfrce, said: We have an pprtunity t save many thusands f lives frm cancer every year. We re better infrmed than ever abut hw best t prevent, diagnse and treat the disease, and hw t deliver better patient experience and quality f life. What s needed nw is actin. Three previus cancer strategies did a great jb f setting England n the path t a wrld class cancer service. But we are a lng way frm where we shuld be. Our expectatin is that the Gvernment and NHS will nw make the investments required and implement this strategy with cmmitment and speed. Simn Stevens, NHS England chief executive, said: One in tw f us will get cancer at sme pint in ur lives, and the gd news is that survival rates are their highest ever. But tw fifths f cancers are preventable, and half f patients are currently diagnsed when their cancers are advanced. That s why the NHS will be backing this grundbreaking rute map fr preventin, earlier diagnsis, mdern treatments and cmpassinate care, which the Taskfrce estimates culd save 30,000 lives a year. Duncan Selbie, chief executive f Public Health England, said: Fur in ten cancers are preventable and withut cncerted actin n risk factrs like smking, alchl and diet, cancer will spread even greater misery t thse affected. The Cancer Taskfrce rightly state that we need a radical upgrade in preventin and public health.
PHE plays a critical rle in the natinal respnse t cancer, including prviding the data and intelligence n which the NHS depends, and we warmly welcme the Taskfrce s reprt. We lk frward t cnsidering the recmmendatins, especially the actin plans t reduce smking and tackle besity, in detail, and wrking with ur partners t realise the visin f a sciety that is serius abut preventin. ENDS Fr media enquiries cntact the Cancer Research UK press ffice n 020 3469 8300 r, ut f hurs, n 07050 264 059. Ntes t editr: * ACHIEVING WORLD-CLASS CANCER OUTCOMES, A STRATEGY FOR ENGLAND 2015-2020 Cancer is the biggest cause f death frm illness r disease in every age grup, frm the yungest children thrugh t ld age, with mrtality significantly higher in men than in wmen. Death rates in England have fallen by mre than a fifth ver the last 30 years and by 10 per cent ver the last decade. They are expected t cntinue t fall, with a drp f arund 17 per cent by 2030. But 130,000 peple still die frm cancer each year a number that has remained relatively cnstant as incidence has increased. The Independent Cancer Taskfrce was established by NHS England n behalf f the Care Quality Cmmissin, Health Educatin England, Mnitr, Public Health England, NICE and the Trust Develpment Authrity in January 2015 t develp a five-year strategy fr cancer services. The Strategy has been infrmed by respnses t a Call fr Evidence, the utputs frm arund 30 wrkshps, discussins within the taskfrce itself, and wider engagement with patients and the brader health cmmunity. Members f the Taskfrce Harpal Kumar Chair Shafi Ahmed Ryal Cllege f Surgens Jane Allberry Department f Health Maureen Baker Ryal Cllege f GPs Juliet Buverie Macmillan Cancer Supprt Adrian Crellin Raditherapy Clinical Reference Grup Sean Duffy NHS England Kevin Hardy St Helens and Knwsley Teaching Hspitals NHS Trust Anne-Marie Hulder - NHS Staffrd and Surrunds CCG Liz Hughes Health Educatin England Jhn Newtn Public Health England Clara Mackay Cancer 52 Kathy McLean NHS Trust Develpment Authrity Catherine Oakley - UK Onclgy Nursing Sciety Cally Palmer Ryal Marsden Martin Reeves Cventry City Cuncil Mike Richards Care Quality Cmmissin Richard Stephens Patient Representative
Sarah Wlnugh/Sara Him Cancer Research UK Appendix A Taskfrce cmmittee welcming statements Clara MacKay, deputy directr f Cancer52, said: There is much t be welcmed in this strategy fr all thse affected by cancer. Hwever, fr rare and less cmmn cancers the underlying principle that n tw patients are the same, either in their cancer r their needs, marks a hugely psitive change in apprach. I am extremely ptimistic abut the impact that implementatin f the recmmendatins set ut in this strategy will have n the experience f rare and less cmmn cancer patients right frm diagnsis thrugh t treatment and supprt. Richard Stephens, patient representative n the Taskfrce, said: I am pleased that this strategy has s much abut patients' experience as well as utcmes. The strategy has respnded t the submissins and requests we received frm patients grups and frm individual patients, carers and families. It stresses nt nly the need t give infrmatin t patients and families when and hw they need it, but als the need t supprt patients and families in understanding their situatin, and in making infrmed chices abut it. In particular that includes having cnversatins abut participating in research, which we knw is an ptin that is very imprtant t the majrity f cancer patients. Sara Him, Cancer Research UK s directr f early diagnsis, said: England s cancer survival is nt what it shuld be, and ur research shws that the health service is struggling. If acted n, this strategy has the ptential t transfrm peple s experiences f cancer care as well as their chances f beating the disease. We at Cancer Research UK welcme the cntinued and detailed fcus n earlier diagnsis and access t the best evidence-based treatment. In rder fr this t happen, it s imperative that the capacity issues fr wrkfrce and diagnstic testing and reprting are addressed. Making preventin a pririty nw will mean much-needed savings dwn the rad fr ur Natinal Health Service, as well as helping mre peple avid a cancer diagnsis in the first place. These recmmendatins shuld ensure that best practice is spread acrss the cuntry mre rapidly, while using evidence and high quality data are essential t drive and measure change and prvide the best fr patients. Sir Andrew Dilln, the chief executive f the Natinal Institute fr Health and Care Excellence, said: Imprving the preventin f cancer, as well as the diagnsis, treatment and care f peple with cancer needs a strategic apprach based n slid fundatins f research, evidence and expert knwledge. Fr the past 16 years NICE has been using expertise and evidence t imprve public health, establish best practice and ensure drugs and treatments are fairly available. This strategy will help the rganisatins f the NHS wrk tgether t stp peple develping cancers, and deliver the best results fr patients and their families affected by the disease. It will als help thse in the NHS caring fr peple with cancer whether in the family dctr s surgery, specialist cancer services, r fr thse wrking in end-f-life care. This strategy will help t prevent, treat and manage cancer based n the best evidence and deliver the very best care cnsistently acrss the NHS.
Juliet Buverie, Directr f Services and Influencing at Macmillan Cancer Supprt, said: We warmly welcme the publicatin f the Independent Cancer Taskfrce s five-year strategy fr cancer in England. As ne f the rganisatins n the Taskfrce, Macmillan Cancer Supprt has played a central rle in influencing the reprt. We are pleased that it reflects the issues which matter mst t peple affected by cancer, including that everyne experiences great treatment, care and supprt and enjys the best pssible quality f life. In ur rle, we have particularly pushed fr a strng fcus n supprting peple thrughut their treatment and beynd, including at the end f their lives. As the number f peple living with cancer grws every day, and the NHS is pushed t its limits, cancer care in this cuntry is at breaking pint. That s why it is vital that the gvernment and NHS cmmit t implementing and fully funding these recmmendatins with immediate effect. Shafi Ahmed, Ryal Cllege f Surgens, said: "The Ryal Cllege f Surgens welcmes and fully supprts the visin f the cancer 2020 strategy which if implemented will undubtedly imprve the quality f care fr ur patients with cancer." Prfessr Sir Mike Richards, Chief Inspectr f Hspitals at the Care Quality Cmmissin and frmer Natinal Cancer Directr at the Department f Health, said: The taskfrce is an imprtant next step t imprve cancer services in England. The reprt s emphasis n preventin, alngside a renewed fcus n early diagnsis and the cmmitment t imprve the verall experience fr cancer patients either diagnsed r living with disease, is welcme. The reprt has implicatins fr us, s serius cnsideratin will be given t the way we assess the quality f cancer services n ur inspectins.