Publication of the government’s National Cancer Plan has been welcomed by the SoR, but caution remains over attention paid to workforce planning.
On Wednesday (4 February), the Department for Health and Social Care published its ‘National Cancer Plan for England: delivering world-class cancer care’, which outlines the current state of cancer care in the UK, highlights that cancer mortality rates in the UK are much higher than in other, comparable countries, and survival is lower.
Interventions raised by the plan, including improving radiotherapy productivity and reviewing sonographer title regulation, are expected to make significant progress on cancer outcomes, SoR says – but its true effectiveness can only be determined in conjunction with the upcoming NHS workforce plan.
Improving services
Among the various priorities of the plan, addressing healthcare inequalities emerges as a significant standout, with the government planning a £200 million fund for local cancer care to address gaps in screening uptake and reduce screening inequalities in deprived areas.
Wes Streeting, Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, said: “Our National Cancer Plan unashamedly puts patients first. It sets out how we will fight cancer on all fronts so that more people become cancer-free like me and fewer people get cancer in the first place. It will also transform how cancer care feels for patients and their families.
“Millions of people are relying on us to do better and nothing short of radical change will do – moving away from the incrementalism of the past and instead pursuing an audacious goal to save 320,000 more lives by 2035.”
Richard Evans, CEO of the Society of Radiographers, said: ”We are pleased that the government is taking cancer – and cancer treatment targets – seriously and is looking to improve on the existing service.”
Sonographer regulation
The SoR is particularly glad to hear of plans to review sonographer regulation – the longstanding campaign of the SoR has highlighted the risks associated with sonography not being a legally protected title.
The Society’s work received particular attention in November last year, when it highlighted the risk that the lack of sonography regulation poses to expectant mothers and their unborn babies. The SoR has called for compulsory regulation as the only way to guarantee patient safety and quality of care.
SoR's concerns received widespread media coverage – and it appears that the government was among those listening. The Society says it is looking forward to engaging with the Department of Health and Social Care, the NHS and the Professional Standards Authority for Health and Social Care to discuss this further
Support for staff
Maximising the productivity of radiotherapy services is also a priority, and the SoR supports investment in new machines, as well as plans to make it quicker and easier to approve new uses of Stereotactic Ablative Radiotherapy. Replacing all machines that are more than 10 years old with newer, faster machines is vital, and has immediate and tangible outcomes for patients, the SoR explained.
Richard warned, however, that the lack of support for staff was a significant error.
He said: “Where the cancer plan falls short, however, is in its lack of workforce planning. The plan barely mentions radiographers, despite our key role in diagnosing cancer and planning and delivering radiotherapy.
“While we welcome moves to bring healthcare into the community, we have yet to see a fully funded staffing plan for community diagnostic centres. Opening more centres without investing in new radiographers will simply take existing radiographers away from acute hospital departments – which are already chronically understaffed.”
Vacancy rates and radiographer shortages
The vacancy rate among symptomatic mammographers, who scan women who find a lump in their breast or who have a family history of breast cancer, is currently 19.8 per cent. The plan makes no suggestion as to how to address this.
Achieving the government’s target of 75 per cent five-year survival rate through earlier diagnosis continues to be ahead of actual treatment capacity.
“The cancer plan assumes that new machinery alone is enough to expand capacity for treatment,” he continued. “New machines, while important, need radiographers to plan and deliver patient care. Our members tell us that their patients often wait weeks or even months for radiotherapy treatment – considerably longer than the NHS target times.
“Prompt diagnosis, followed by months of waiting for treatment, only increases patient anxiety and distress. If the government is serious about cutting cancer waiting lists and meeting its ambitious target for improved cancer survival rates, then it needs to invest in radiotherapy departments.”
Currently, 550 additional Therapeutic Radiographers are needed merely to eliminate the 8 per cent workforce shortage across England.
The forthcoming NHS workforce plan must be fully aligned with the cancer strategy – “one cannot function properly without the other,” Richard emphasised.
“We need a strong healthcare workforce – including radiographers, mammographers and sonographers – to help bring down cancer waiting times.”
Find out more about the National Cancer Plan online here.