Postcode lottery
Thousands of people with cancer are dying prematurely because they live in the “wrong” part of the country, a government report revealed a few days ago.
Charities and MPs condemned the variations, which mean that sufferers in some parts of the country have significantly less chance of surviving at least a year after diagnosis of cancer.
Although overall cancer survival rates have improved, almost all NHS primary care trusts (PCTs) in England are failing to match the best cancer survival rates in Europe despite the introduction of a national Cancer Reform Strategy two years ago.

A real problem
Patients in Herefordshire are more than three times more likely to die within a year of diagnosis of lung cancer compared with patients in Kensington and Chelsea, according to the progress report published by the Department of Health.
Cancer Research UK called for urgent action from the Government, adding that there was “no excuse” for the differences in life expectancy between different areas.
The second annual progress report on the Cancer Reform Strategy comes after Mike Richards, the National Cancer Director, estimated that late diagnosis of cancer causes at least 10,000 premature deaths a year.
In an article for the British Journal of Cancer, Professor Richards writes: “These delays in the patient presenting with symptoms and cancer being diagnosed at a late stage inevitably costs lives.
“The situation is unacceptable so the first big step has been to understand why the delays occur.”

Patients not being treated / diagnosed early enough
Every year more than 290,000 people in Britain have some form of cancer diagnosed, and about 150,000 people die.
But while eight out of ten patients with bowel cancer live for more than a year after diagnosis in Telford and Wrekin in the West Midlands, less than six out of ten (57.9 per cent) do so in Waltham Forest, North London.
Ninety-nine per cent of all patients in Torbay, Devon, survive at least a year after a diagnosis of breast cancer, but this figure is 89 per cent in Tower Hamlets.
Harpal Kumar, chief executive of Cancer Research, said: “These shocking statistics confirm that the cancer postcode lottery remains a real problem.
“Patients are undoubtedly not being diagnosed early enough in large parts of the country, nor are they getting equal access to the best treatments, such as surgery for lung cancer.
“It’s a disgrace that such a small proportion of primary care trusts have survival rates that match the best figures in Europe, or even the best rates in Europe ten years ago.
“This needs urgent action.”

A lack of proper diagnostic tests and understanding of symptoms
A separate report by MPs on the All Party Parliamentary Group for Cancer, also published today, suggests that older patients may also be at risk of dying earlier due to a lack of proper diagnostic tests or symptoms.
Mark Simmonds, MP, a Conservative health spokesman, said: “We are concerned by this data, which demonstrates the unacceptable inequalities in treatment and care for cancer patients. In 2000 the Government pledged that reducing health inequalities was a key aim, yet nearly a decade on the gap has widened and five-year cancer survival rates still lag behind those of comparable European countries.”

Andy Burnham’s pledge
Andy Burnham, the Health Secretary, responded: “Cancer treatment in Britain has improved vastly in recent years and this is shown in the falling mortality rates and increasing survival rates.
“However, we know that survival rates vary across the country, particularly in deprived areas, so this year’s report has deliberately focused on local variations so we can highlight to the NHS where they need to take action.
“I hope that the publication of this data combined with the Prime Minister’s pledge to give patients key diagnostic tests within just one week of seeing their GP will save thousands more lives.”

The Government has announced that patients who wait too long on the NHS will have the right to free private care for the first time,
The new legal right will apply to all those forced to wait more than 18 weeks for treatment and cancer sufferers not seen by a specialist within a fortnight.

Ministers plan to launch a consultation on the finer details of the scheme but insist that the new laws will come into force by the start of April next year.
The Government will also consult on other potential new rights, such as the right to die at home or to access NHS dentistry

Around 400,000 people wait more than 18 weeks for treatment every year in Britain, although ministers insist that many of these delay their own treatment for a wide variety of reasons.

The new waiting times rights will be announced by Gordon Brown during his monthly press conference.
Andy Burnham, the Health Secretary, has already declared that the legal right will be a “key battleground” for the next general election.
He said: “Turning targets into legal rights will empower patients and guarantee them the same high standards of care, regardless of where they live.”

But doctors’ leaders have warned that some patients could be forced to wait longer for treatment because of the new right.
Opposition parties also accused the Government of making an “unaffordable and uncosted pledge” that had more to do with the prospect of an upcoming General Election than with improving the health service.

The NHS has seen substantial cuts in waiting times in recent years and 93.7 per cent of hospital patients are now treated within 18 weeks.
That figure is even higher for urgent cancer referrals, with 94.1 per cent being seen by a specialist within two weeks.

Some NHS organisations already outsource some patients to private health care providers but this will be the first time that patients have the right to demand the treatment.

The Government insists that it can bring in the new right under the Health Bill already going through parliament, which will also enshrine the NHS constitution in law, and will not have to bring forward any extra legislation.

Opposition politicians accused the Government of not knowing how much the move would cost.
Andrew Lansley, the Shadow Health Secretary, said: “This is the latest in a series of unaffordable and uncosted pledges that have more to do with electioneering than improving the NHS.”

Dr Mark Porter, chairman of the British Medical Association’s consultants committee, said: “Many doctors remain frustrated by examples of political targets being prioritised over the needs of individual patients.
“If one group of patients gains a legal right by virtue of how long they have waited, there is a risk that others with more serious conditions will wait longer.”
A spokesman for the Department of Health insisted that the proposals would be “largely cost-neutral”, and that increased costs would be offset by efficient use of extra capacity.

I came across an interesting post done by an American woman where she compares her experiences of the American versus the UK health system.
She makes very interesting conclusions
a)The NHS looks like a a very socialist – soviet style – health care model.
b)At least health care in the UK is not dictated to you by someone else, you are free of your own decisions. In the US insurance companies force you to do all sort of stuff
c)There are a lot of delays in the UK but just about the same as in the US
d)Thank god in the UK you can choose your own doctor.
e)You don’t receive bills from the hospital. Free means free.
f)Brits truly believe that health care is a human right and are happy to have a system that covers everyone, all the time.
e)A private system is healthy and alive in the UK. Both public and private systems can coexist.
f)Brits do not have to worry about care being tied up to employment. They don’t have to worry how they will bring health care to their family. This stimulates productivity !
g)The government answers to the people in a way that US insurance companies never do because the government has a public duty.
h)There is an emphasis on preventative care and the simplest way this happens is that people actually go to see their doctor when they are sick.

Finally the author concludes “I can sum up my experience of the British and American health care systems in one simple sentence:  given a choice between the two systems, I’d choose the NHS in a heartbeat.  And though this is the experience of only one single person out of millions, unlike so much of the propaganda and hysteria surrounding the current health care debate, it is the absolute Gospel truth.”