NI cancer patients "deserve much better", says charity CEO
The message comes from Cancer Focus NI
The CEO of a leading cancer charity says cancer patients and their families in Northern Ireland deserve “much better”.
Cancer Focus NI says it's deeply frustrated by the “lack of progress” in implementing the Cancer Strategy, which was launched a year ago to improve prevention, early diagnosis, waiting times, treatment, and survival.
The charity also says it’s “deeply concerning” that there still isn’t an agreed multiyear budget to support implementation of the strategy.
Speaking to Downtown/Cool FM Cancer Focus NI Chief Executive Richard Spratt said, “I think there’s frustration because there was a lot of hope and ambition with the Northern Ireland Cancer Strategy. It was many years in the making. Cancer Focus NI really for a decade and many others in our sector had campaigned for it.”
He continued, “We’ve had 12 months. So we are in now to the beginning I suppose of year 2 of implementation but there are certain things that are just on the back burner that can’t be progressed – either for budgetary reasons or because they require ministerial or Executive decision. So I think significant reform can’t occur until we have the correct governance in place”.
“What we really need to see as quickly as possible is action. There aren’t going to be easy solutions to some of the problems that exist, but with a lack of governance and the lack of forward planning, the problems are just going to exacerbate.”
"Our concerns are reinforced by the frustrations expressed by local patients and their families. Cancer Focus NI is keen to support the Department’s efforts to meet its cancer waiting times targets. However, we’ve seen yet another year where the Department of Health is playing catch up to its own set targets. Each missed deadline represents the life of a real person experiencing further undue stress, losing out on the opportunity to have their cancer identified and treated in an optimal timeframe that could see their chances of survival improve. We believe that cancer patients and their families deserve much better.”
Richard continued, “The Cancer Strategy still has the potential to play a crucial role in the transformation agenda of the health and social care service. It is an exemplar of developing policy through co-production and co-design and is supported by statutory bodies, the community and voluntary sectors, and the public. Cancer Focus NI demands a similar and urgent commitment from all our political leaders to guarantee the recurring funding necessary to deliver the Strategy’s recommendations. We look forward to seeing it achieve a real difference to the lives of people across all our local communities”.
A spokeperson for the Department of Health said, “It is extremely disappointing that the Department’s performance targets for cancer waiting times are not being met. The length of time patients in Northern Ireland were waiting for assessment, diagnosis and treatment for cancer was increasing before the pandemic and this has been exacerbated in the past three years.”
“The Cancer Strategy, launched by the former Health Minister in March 2022, provides the strategic direction for the transformation of cancer services over the next 10 years. A review into cancer care for teenagers and young adults is expected to be published soon, with a clear plan to improve care. The work to create a cancer research strategy has launched. Work is underway to improve the mental wellbeing of cancer patients and two projects have recently launched to improve the key pathways across oncology and haematology.”
“In December, two Rapid Diagnosis Centres (RDCs) - the first of their kind in Northern Ireland – were launched at Whiteabbey Hospital and Dungannon’s South Tyrone Hospital. Patients have been seen in both hospitals and the first cancers have been detected, shortening the expected time between first concern and cancer diagnosis.”
“The opening of these clinics, which was a key action set out in the Cancer Strategy, provides a new pathway for cancer diagnosis for people with vague but concerning symptoms, which do not meet the criteria for other red flag cancer pathways. Over the coming year these sites will expand to accept referrals from GPs across Northern Ireland. This has the potential to reduce the number of GP, hospital consultant and diagnostic appointments and significantly speed up diagnosis.”
“In addition, the Day Procedure Centre (DPC) at Lagan Valley Hospital (LVH) supports a range of specialties from across the region to undertake day surgery. Omagh Hospital was announced as the second Regional Day Procedure Centre and has been provided with additional funding to enhance capacity for Elective Care Services. It is anticipated that the Omagh DPC will be operational soon with a number of day surgery lists already underway.”
“Elective Overnight Stay Centres for patients requiring intermediate complexity surgery, and a stay of 0-3 days, are also being developed. The Mater Hospital in Belfast, Daisy Hill Hospital in Newry, and the South West Acute Hospital (SWAH) in Enniskillen have been announced as the first three centres. Elective overnight surgery is underway at the Mater Hospital, and the first overnight elective surgical procedures have taken place at SWAH for patients from the Western Trust area and from across parts of Northern Ireland. These improvements in elective surgery will positively impact on cancer patients’ care and treatment, with both shorter waits and improved outcomes.”
“While measures to reduce waiting times have been of vital importance it is acknowledged that a step change in cancer performance requires a significant investment in capacity, together with modernised care pathways underpinned by effective skills mix and use of technology. This will require substantial and sustained investment in workforce and services. However, In the absence of an agreed multi-year budget for health and a significant projected overspend for the year, the ability to strategically plan beyond the short term is extremely challenging.”