Cancer services in the UK: Restarting the cancer pathway

This webinar took place on 25 February 2021. To be notified of future events please register. 

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About this webinar

The way the NHS rose to the challenge of the pandemic shows what can be achieved when we pull together to deliver exceptional healthcare services for those who need them. However, the pandemic also had severe impacts on the delivery of other services. The number of new patients being recruited onto UK-based trials fell by 95 per cent in April 2020 compared with April 2019, the number of GP referrals fell by 60 per cent and there was an 85 per cent reduction in the number of completed pathways for cancer care.

Perhaps more concerning is the 36 per cent of nurses and 17 per cent of GPs who said they were considering leaving the profession once the pandemic was under control according to the BMJ and Royal College of Nursing.

In response to these concerns and building on the recently published government White Paper for healthcare reform, Public Policy Projects, in partnership with BMS, is launching a new report making bold recommendations for NHS England, the Department of Health and Social Care and service providers to support the restart of cancer services.

Cancer services in the UK: Restarting the cancer pathway report

This report, entitled Cancer services in the UK: Restarting the cancer pathway describes the big issues we need to tackle, not just to restore services, but to ‘build back better’ – using the talents of our healthcare services, research establishments and life sciences industry to deliver outstanding care.

The impact of the Covid-19 could set the UK’s five-year cancer survival rate progress back by up to eight years. It is clear, therefore, that we need to bring the same determination and unity of purpose that we mustered to tackle the pandemic, to the restart cancer services.