Cancer care to get £87.5m injection

4 Jan 01
Health Secretary Alan Milburn announced an £87.5m boost for cancer care this week

05 January 2001

Health Secretary Alan Milburn announced an £87.5m boost for cancer care this week as experts warned of 'shocking' services in some parts of England. Milburn said the money would be spent developing services over the next four years.

The aim is to reduce the 18,000 deaths a year caused by stomach cancers by speeding up diagnosis, ensuring patients are treated by surgeons who specialise in stomach cancers and improving the availability of anti-cancer drugs.

NHS cancer care is notoriously poor compared with that in other European Union countries and North America.

However, a Department of Health report published this week said that pilot programmes, which are due to be rolled out across the country from April, had reduced waiting times and cut bureaucracy.

The government-funded Cancer Services Collaboratives have targeted specific cancers in nine areas of England.

'Improving cancer care is not just about investment, it's also about reform. The Cancer Collaboratives are demonstrating that by changing the way we provide cancer services, we can cut waiting times and have a major impact on cancer care,' Milburn said.

PFjan2001

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