An urgent call from One Cancer Voice group

One Cancer Voice group of cancer charities Children with Cancer UK has joined 50 other charities in calling for the Comprehensive Spending Review to urgently deliver government commitments to improve cancer survival & care for patients. The One Cancer Voice charity coalition urges swift action in directing resources to work towards the UK becoming world-leading to achieve improvements to quality of life and patient’s outcomes.

Dear Prime Minister, Chancellor of the Exchequer and Secretary of State for Health and Social Care,

Cancer affects every family across the UK. 1 in 2 of us will get cancer in our lifetime and incidence is disproportionately high among older people and those in the most deprived communities. There are around 30,000 extra cancer cases attributable to deprivation each year in the UK. Before COVID-19, cancer services were under considerable strain. In England, we have been routinely failing to meet the 62-day Cancer Waiting Time target for patients to begin treatment following an urgent GP cancer referral – this has not been met since December 2015. Not only has the target been missed, but it has been in continual decline since 2017, showing a service under increasing pressure. And with almost 1 in 10 NHS posts vacant before the pandemic, too few cancer specialists in the NHS and insufficient kit meant we have been failing to meet patient need. The lack of adequate support is putting a strain on other parts of the NHS, with evidence of more patients experiencing a serious medical problem and needing to attend A&E. Tragically, the pandemic has only put further pressure on cancer services, and on patients and the lives of family’s dependent on those services.

…with almost 1 in 10 NHS posts vacant before the pandemic, too few cancer specialists in the NHS and insufficient kit meant we have been failing to meet patient need.

This poses an enormous challenge.

As a group of 51 cancer charities, we are speaking with One Cancer Voice to ask the Government to urgently respond to this challenge and improve outcomes for patients in the forthcoming Spending Review by: growing the cancer workforce and investing in kit to meet patient need and drive innovation to provide better care; levelling-up on cancer to address socioeconomic factors which mean poorer communities are disproportionately affected by cancer, and; strengthening investment in cancer research and development. This investment is vital to deliver the ambitions in the NHS Long Term Plan and meet the needs of cancer patients today and in the future so that every patient can have a good quality of life and the best chance of survival. Whilst we welcome the recent announcements of further funding to help clear the elective care backlog, this is funding only one part of the cancer challenge. And, to date, no funding has been publicly earmarked to help address existing and future cancer workforce shortages. We have been waiting for years for a fully funded long-term plan for the NHS workforce and the Government cannot delay any further. We estimate that an additional investment of around £200m in Health Education England is needed over the next three years to fill cancer workforce gaps. We are gravely concerned that without action to improve prevention, diagnosis and treatment, cancer care will deteriorate. Without action and political leadership, we are in danger of seeing cancer survival rates slipping backwards in this country and even further behind comparable countries. This means more people will die unnecessarily. We don’t believe any government would want to approach the next General Election with that record.

As a group of 51 cancer charities, we are speaking with One Cancer Voice to ask the Government to urgently respond to this challenge and improve outcomes for patients in the forthcoming Spending Review…

Without action this will become worse.

The number of people diagnosed with cancer each year in the UK is projected to grow to over 500,000 by 2035, up 40% on 2015 levels. Without investment there is a real danger the Government could fail to deliver on its manifesto commitment to improve cancer survival and to diagnose 75% of cancer early by 2028 (we are currently at around 55%). The economic and human case for investing in cancer services, research and support is clear. It will improve cancer outcomes, drive innovation and help establish a healthier and more resilient population. The Comprehensive Spending Review is the opportunity for the Government to turn the corner on cancer. To establish the UK as world beating in cancer survival and care, and to build a life-saving legacy that will be remembered by, and benefit, generations to come. We hope that you will respond positively to the action needed on cancer.