05.12.12
Higher rate of surgery for lung cancer – HSCIC
Lung cancer care continues to improve, eight years after the first national audit in 2005, data from the Health and Social Care Information Centre (HSCIC) shows.
Improved treatment and care includes a higher rate of curative surgery now possible on the NHS.
The audit is managed in partnership with the Royal College of Physicians (RCP) and commissioned by the Healthcare Quality Improvement Partnership and is based on data from 38,500 patients in 2011 in Great Britain.
HSCIC found that 60% of patients now have anti-cancer treatment, compared to 45% in 2005. 20% of patients with confirmed non-small cell lung cancer now have an operation that could potentially cure their disease, up from 10% in 2005 and the number of patients with lung cancer or mesothelioma who now have an operation has risen from 9% to 15%.
Additionally, 96.2% of patients now have their cases discussed by a multidisciplinary team, compared to 86% in 2005.
However, variation remains across England and Wales, with the proportion of patients first seen in 2011 in England and Wales that had an operation ranging from 11% in one organisation to 16.5% in another.
Consultant in respiratory medicine Dr Mick Peake, audit clinical lead and clinical lead for NHS Cancer Improvement and the National Cancer Intelligence Network, said: “Collection of data is now embedded in lung cancer clinical teams in the UK. The overall quality of these data is now excellent and we believe that the very large part of the variation reported is a reflection of how things really are across the country.
“The performance of hospitals has improved consistently year on year over the period of the audit and this is making a really positive impact on patient care and outcomes. However, the level of variation that is shown means that there is still significant room for improvement to bring all hospitals up to the standard of the best.”
Tell us what you think – have your say below, or email us directly at [email protected]