Thousands at risk after simple blood test denied
Brave Laura begins cancer treatment and thanks Express
And he said that it had been a “feast and famine” approach.
The NHS boss said: “If we want a functioning NHS we will as a country have to change that.
“Therefore I welcome the notion of a five or 10-year clear funding commitment that will enable the NHS and the workforce to set out the clear improvements for cancer services, mental health services, new technology and innovation.”
Meg Hillier, who chairs the influential committee, called for “fresh thinking” to address the NHS budget crisis as demand for services continues to grow.
She said: “The National Health Service continues to scrape by on emergency handouts and funds that were intended for essential investment.
“We have said it before and we will say it again: rescue packages and budget transfers are no substitute for a coherent, properly funded strategy that enables NHS trusts to plan, focus on patient care and lay the groundwork for long-term financial sustainability.
“Government’s last-minute response to what were entirely predictable winter pressures is just the latest vivid demonstration of why fresh thinking is so desperately needed.”
The committee’s report warns the NHS has a “long way to go before it is financially sustainable”, with trusts forecasting a deficit of over £900million in 2017/18.
The Treasury announced £337million in extra funding in November, in part to cope with winter pressures, but MPs said this was “too late” for trusts to effectively plan how it would be spent.
The committee said: “We are disappointed that the [health] department’s lack of action means we have to repeat some of the same messages as our previous reports on the dangers of short-term measures used to balance the NHS budget and the risks of raising investment funds to meet day-to-day spending.”
A Department for Health and Social Care spokesman said: “[Mr Hunt] has acknowledged that funding for the NHS needs to be addressed with longer-term measures.” GUTSY nurse Laura Harris smiled yesterday as she received the first dose of a drug that could give her precious time with her family.
Laura, 42, who has terminal cancer, was forced to fundraise to pay for the medication because it is not available to her on the NHS.
The mum-of-three from Barnstable, north Devon, who is a cancer nurse herself, has been battling bowel cancer since early 2017 and now needs to take the drug Bevacizumab.
Laura said: “I’m feeling exhausted but optimistic. If the treatment works it will be directly due to the generosity of strangers that I am alive.
“Thank you to all who donated to make this possible.”
Since the Daily Express highlighted Laura’s case, donations to her fundraising page have reached £82,000. THOUSANDS of people are at risk of developing bowel cancer because they are denied a simple blood test, a charity warns today.
Four in five hospitals in England are not testing patients for Lynch syndrome – a genetic condition that seriously increases risk.
It means children of those with the syndrome stand a 50/50 chance of developing bowel cancer.
The gene can be found through a blood test, as recommended by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence.
But Bowel Cancer UK and Beating Bowel Cancer found that 83 per cent of hospital trusts are not following official guidelines to test all bowel cancer patients at the time of their diagnosis for Lynch syndrome.
Many hospitals blamed a lack of funding.
The scandal comes as latest figures show nearly half of those eligible for free bowel cancer screening in England fail to take up the offer.
Gail Curry, head of health promotion at the two charities, said: “Bowel cancer is the UK’s second biggest cancer killer, but it shouldn’t be. It’s treatable and curable, especially if diagnosed early.”