Cancer patients not getting right care, say doctors

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******* patients not getting right care, say doctors

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Senior doctors responsible for monitoring ******* care in England and Wales are concerned failings in NHS services are contributing to up to half of patients are not getting the right treatment for some cancers.

In evidence provided to the BBC, the

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highlighted particular problems with prostate, kidney and colon cancers.

The expert group said it had found significant variation between hospitals and warned the problems accessing nationally-recommended treatments were putting lives at risk.

It carries out audits across nine major cancers – responsible for 80% of cases – and has found shortfalls across a range of different ******* types and stages.

Figures shared with the BBC show:

30% of patients with high-risk prostate ******* do not get curative treatment with either surgery or radiotherapy, with performance varying between 20% and 43% across different services34% of stage three colon ******* cases do not get chemotherapy within three months of surgery – at some hospitals the numbers exceed 60%50% of stage four renal cell carcinoma patients, a type of kidney ******* that has spread to other parts of the body, do not get drug treatment – with performance varying between 20% and 85%

NatCan said while a ********* of patients would be choosing not to have treatment themselves and others may not be well enough, that could not fully explain the scale of the shortfall or variation between hospitals.

Governments in both nations say improving services is a key priority and England is in the process of drawing up a new ******* strategy, which ministers say will revolutionise services.

‘I was lucky’

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Ian Pattison is in remission after being diagnosed with high-risk prostate ******* in 2020

Ian Pattison’s case highlights the value of getting the right treatment. He was diagnosed with high-risk prostate ******* in 2020, at the age of 65.

It had started spreading to nearby organs and he was offered the nationally-recommended treatment of hormone therapy and radiotherapy for his particular type of *******.

He said the treatment was brutal but, now aged 70, his ******* is in remission and he is enjoying life.

Mr Pattison, from Durham, said: “I was lucky that I live close to a specialist ******* centre in Newcastle where I could get the best treatment.

“It was hard going through it all and coping with the side effects but I am so thankful I got the treatment.

“I feel fit and well. I love walking, spending time with my family and looking after the grandchildren.”

Huge difference

But Prof Ajay Aggarwal, clinical director at NatCan, which is run by the Royal College of Surgeons (RCS) for NHS England and the Welsh government, said it was concerning so many patients were not getting the recommended treatment, adding that the variation was hard to understand.

“We need to do better,” he said. “With *******, we often hear people talking about what the next breakthrough is but, the fact remains, using what we have better could make a huge difference. It would extend and save lives.”

Prof Aggarwal said there were likely to be several reasons for the problems and variation, including some services unfairly assuming older patients could not cope with treatment, as well as problems with staffing and capacity.

He said there was evidence of smaller hospitals not always referring patients on to specialist centres where they can get treatment but added that even some of the big centres were coming up short for some cancers.

But the problems, he added, were not uniform with treatment rates for some ******* types much better.

RCS president Tim Mitchell said echoed the concerns, saying: “The NHS has access to world-class ******* treatments and care, but inconsistent delivery means far too many patients miss out.

“At worst, this may mean some patients are needlessly dying or in unnecessary pain.”

Staggering

And ******* charities said tacking the failings was arguably more important than reducing waiting times.

Eve Byrne, from Macmillan ******* Support, said the findings were “quite staggering”, adding that tackling the variation should be the “number one priority” in the forthcoming national ******* strategy.

“Getting the best care to give you the greatest chance of survival should not come down to which hospital you attend or where you live in the country,” she said.

Ms Byrne said patients should get the right care for their particular type of *******, no matter where they are.

“We are concerned that people from deprived, rural or ethnically diverse communities could be losing out in particular,” she said.

Amy Rylance, from Prostate ******* ***, said patients were effectively being denied their “best chance of a cure”, adding: “This needs to change now.”

NHS England ******* director Prof Peter Johnson said: “We know that patients’ experience of ******* treatment does vary too often – and we are working hard to address this.”

And a Department of Health and Social Care spokesman said: “Patients should be able to access the ******* care they need regardless of where they live and we are committed to addressing health inequalities as we rebuild the NHS.”

A new ******* strategy is expected to be published in the second half of the year, which Health Secretary Wes Streeting has said will revolutionise services.

A Welsh government spokeswoman said it was working with the NHS to “plan, deliver, recover and improve ******* services”.

She said the audit highlighted areas where further work was needed.

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#******* #patients #care #doctors

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