One Cancer Voice urge Governments to put cancer at centre of recovery plans
Published on: 16 March 2021Plotting a route out of the pandemic and towards world-leading cancer services.
One Cancer Voice, a group of 47 cancer charities of which Lymphoma Action is a member, have written to the UK and devolved governments. We have acknowledged the challenge that COVID-19 has caused and the difficult situation facing NHS cancer services as a result of the pandemic. The letter highlights the thousands of people who have gone undiagnosed, those whose tests and treatments have been disrupted and the clinical trials that have been paused or slowed down.
As a member of One Cancer Voice we are are urging Governments in all four UK nations to drive efforts towards directing resources to tackle the substantial backlog of cancer tests and treatments and to restore and transform cancer services.
In the letter, One Cancer Voice are urging UK Governments and NHS leaders to put cancer patients at the centre of the pandemic recovery plan and to:
- Direct resources to clear the cancer backlog as quickly as possible
- Continue to encourage people with signs of symptoms of cancer to seek help from their GP
- Expand the number of staff in key cancer professions
- Drive earlier and faster diagnosis
- Ensure personalised care and support for all
- Strengthen the UK’s medical R&D base to accelerate improvements in cancer outcomes
- Resource high quality end of life care
- Be bolder in measures to prevent cancer
- Reduce inequalities in cancer outcomes.
Now’s the time for the government to be bold, to reduce inequalities in cancer care and to direct resources to diagnosis, treatment and research. We not only have to restore cancer services, but find a way to improve them through innovation and through a focus on what people with cancer need. Ropinder Gill, Lymphoma Action Chief Executive