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'World-class' cancer care pledge

03/12/2007

The government has pledged to introduce a world-class system of cancer care over the next five years.

Health secretary Alan Johnson today outlined plans to reform the cancer services available in the UK, with a new emphasis on preventative measures.

As part of the plans, which have been broadly welcomed by cancer charities, the availability of support services for cancer patients is to be boosted, while there is also a promise to increase investment in equipment.

The government plans to use the Cancer Reform Strategy to raise awareness over smoking, diet and exercise, following up on promises made at the Labour conference earlier this year.

Speaking this morning, health secretary Alan Johnson said the Labour government had already overseen significant improvements in the quality and availability of treatment but that the process was a long-term one.

"It was never going to be a case of moving to world class in a year or two years or even five years; this is a process where you need to get the new equipment in, need to get more specialists trained up," he told BBC Breakfast.

"You need to introduce preventative measures, the measures we took in the summer about a smokefree environment, the measure we took to lift the age of purchase on cigarettes – all of this is important because tobacco is one of the major killers," he added, in reference to the banning of smoking in public places and the rise of the tobacco purchase age from 16 to 18.

The Conservatives have said that the new reform strategy was an admission of failure but Mr Johnson dismissed this as "party political claptrap".

He illustrated the progress made by the government on cancer care, claiming that 99 per cent of people are now seen by a specialist in 14 days.

"We've got a 16 per cent reduction in the mortality rate amongst the under 75s, that's two per cent a year it's coming down," he said.

As part of the strategy, there will also be greater investment in radiotherapy and screening and Mr Johnson claimed that the age range for breast cancer screening will move from between 50 and 70 to between 47 and 73.

"It's prevention, it's early diagnosis, it's ensuring there's no long waiting lists and then it is to ensure that patients get the very best treatment," he added.

Commenting on the plans, Harpal Kumar, chief executive of Cancer Research UK, said: "We have campaigned hard for the government to significantly increase the UK’s investment in radiotherapy capacity. These vital life-saving services offer the possibility of significantly improving survival rates in the UK.

"Half of all cancer patients receive radiotherapy and this funding should ensure that we have the capacity to deliver consistently across the country, without patients having to wait for long periods for treatment."

In total the government is promising to invest an extra £370 million by 2010 to help improve cancer care in the UK.

Smoking has been highlighted as a key factor in causing cancer and apublic consultation will be launched on banning tobacco sales from vending machines and on packaging on cigarettes.

A review of the evidence surrounding the cancer risk of sunbeds and their use among under-18s is also to be introduced.

According to Cancer Research UK, cancer is the leading cause of death in the UK and more than one in three people will develop the disease at some point in their lives.