NHS to hire 500 cancer specialists to boost survival

THE Health Secretary is to announce plans to hire 500 more NHS cancer experts amid warnings of a looming “crisis” in the workforce.

Jeremy Hunt will make the pledge while saying more than 6,000 people are alive today who would have died without improvements in cancer care.

Today he will unveil plans to speed up cancer diagnosis, so patients can start treatment sooner. Late diagnosis is one of the reasons why Britain lags behind in cancer survival.

A recent report by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development showed the UK to have the 11th worst mortality rates among all 35 member countries, with rates similar to the Czech Republic and Lithuania.

But today Mr Hunt will tell the Britain Against Cancer conference that improvements since 2010 mean 6,500 people are alive today who owe their lives to improvements in NHS care. He will also announce the expansion in the cancer workforce. Ministers will promise to recruit 300 radiographers – specialists who use X-rays and ultrasound to identify some cancers – and 200 clinical endoscopists, who investigate areas such as the bowel and stomach, using cameras.

Mr Hunt said: “The NHS has made amazing progress in diagnosing and treating cancer – it’s incredible that 6,500 more people are alive today who would not have been had mortality rates stayed the same as in 2010.

“We want to save more lives and to do that we need more specialists who can investigate and diagnose cancer quickly. These extra specialists will go a long way to help the NHS save an extra 30,000 lives by 2020.”

It follows the announcement of plans to introduce a maximum fourweek wait for diagnosis by 2020.

Health officials said that since 2010, the number of people seen by a specialist for suspected cancer has more than doubled, with a 49per cent increase in diagnostic tests.