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08
Oct 2019
Warning from leading cancer charities that survival rates won’t improve unless government tackles NHS staff shortages
Leading charities Cancer Research UK and Macmillan Cancer Support have both written to the prime minister warning that cancer survival rates will not improve unless the government tackles a desperate shortage of specialist staff.
They estimate that at least 115,000 patients in England were diagnosed with late stage cancer (stage three or four tumours) in 2017, stating that this was largely due to a lack of staff.
Recent figures show one in ten posts for specialist staff who diagnose cancer are vacant.
The letter which was also sent to health secretary Matt Hancock, wants that “patients are being let down. We desperately need a plan of action as pressure continues to pile up on the existing overworked staff.”
The letter adds “We believe a government that sees the NHS as a priority should see its workforce as an investment.”
A recent study in The Lancet medical journal publicised that the UK was bottom of a league table of six Western nations for colon, stomach, rectal and lung cancer survival rates.
A spokesperson from the Department of Health and Social Care said “Cancer survival rates are at a record high and we’re driving millions into effective diagnosis and screening – but want to save even more lives.”
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Posted by Karen Motley, Clinical Negligence Department, Chadwick Lawrence LLP (tonymay@chadlaw.co.uk ), medical negligence lawyers and clinical negligence solicitors in Huddersfield, Leeds, Wakefield and Halifax, West Yorkshire.
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