28 January 2005
Campaigners called on the government to clarify responsibility for funding cancer services this week after a report highlighted significant variations in death rates.
The Commons Public Accounts Committee's report on NHS cancer services in England found that patients living in northern cities were almost twice as likely to die of cancer as those in affluent communities in the Southeast.
It added that poorer patients were less likely to receive an early diagnosis and thus less likely to survive.
Although the NHS was meeting its targets on the urgent referral of patients with suspected cancers, once they were in the system there were wide variations in waiting times for diagnostic tests and treatments. Some anti-cancer drugs were not used widely.
PAC chair Edward Leigh said: 'It is simply unacceptable that there are postcode lotteries for prescription of anti-cancer drugs, waiting times for scans, and even chemotherapy treatments. The Department of Health and the NHS need to identify exactly where there are such inequities, understand the reasons behind them, and address them without delay.'
Cancer charities blamed the problems on confusion over who funded the services. Some are funded through primary care trusts, while others are bought by specialist regional commissioners. The complexities in these arrangements led to gaps.
Joanne Rule, chief executive of CancerBacup, said: 'We need clarity about who is responsible for ensuring that money and treatments reach cancer patients.'
Macmillan Cancer Relief chief executive Peter Cardy urged the government to give patients more information about their care so they could make informed decisions about their treatment.
PFjan2005
