Cancer strategy funding questioned

The NHS Confederation has welcomed the Government’s new cancer strategy – but has concerns about where the £800m funding is to come from.

The strategy, as reported on NHE.com yesterday, is aimed at saving 5,000 lives a year, and focuses on early testing, with money also for sigmoidoscopy screening for bowel cancer, more cancer specialists and an awareness campaign, alongside the already-announced cancer drugs fund.

Jo Webber, deputy policy director of the NHS Confederation, said: “The emphasis on early diagnosis in this strategy is crucial and will help to continue the work that is already being done to spot the signs of this disease earlier and get people treated faster. This will help to provide the improvement in cancer survival rates in England which everyone wants to see.

“If this emphasis on prevention and early diagnosis is to deliver the benefits outlined in the strategy, the contribution of GPs in referring early is absolutely vital, as is getting the commissioning right so that the right patients get the right tests and treatment at the right time.