• NHS England have published The independent review of adult screening programmes in England 
• Professor Sir Mike Richards, NHS’ first cancer director, was jointly commissioned by Simon Stevens NHS England chief executive and Matt Hancock, health and social care secretary, to make recommendations on overhauling national screening programmes, to assist the long term plan goal of saving an extra 55,000 lives each year within a decade by catching three quarters of all cancers early.
• Sir Mike has called for more convenience with regard to screenings, saying patients should be able to choose appointments close to their work and local screening services should put on extra evening and weekend appointments for breast, cervical and other cancer checks. The report also called for more to be done to drive uptake through social media campaigns and text reminders.
• £200m of extra NHS diagnostics investment announced by the government will upgrade and replace older mammography and diagnostic imaging equipment.

Responding to The independent review of adult screening programmes in England by Sir Mike Richards, the deputy chief executive of NHS Providers, Saffron Cordery said:

“This is an important and welcome review of NHS cancer screening programmes by Sir Mike Richards.

“The NHS has an ambitious target to save 55,000 more lives in a decade by catching cancer earlier. We know that more people are waiting longer for cancer treatment. Delays for patients starting treatment can have a real and severe impact on the options available to them and how effective it is.

“It is a fact that demand for NHS cancer services will continue to rise. There is more that the NHS can do to make access to screening services easier and more convenient. While this will play a big part in improving outcomes, we also need to make sure we have the specialist workforce, equipment and treatments in place.

It is a fact that demand for NHS cancer services will continue to rise. There is more that the NHS can do to make access to screening services easier and more convenient. While this will play a big part in improving outcomes, we also need to make sure we have the specialist workforce, equipment and treatments in place.

Saffron Cordery    Deputy Chief Executive

“Scheduling more screening services on evenings and weekends, and in more locations is a step to improve access. But to properly run these services we need to address severe workforce shortages. Trusts are struggling to ensure they have the range of specialists required not only to carry out screening tests but also report the outcomes quickly enough.

Scheduling more screening services on evenings and weekends, and in more locations is a step to improve access. But to properly run these services we need to address severe workforce shortages.

Saffron Cordery    Deputy Chief Executive

tweet this

“This review also calls for a dedicated capital fund to replace outdated screening equipment. While the initial £200m investment announced recently by the prime minister is a welcome start, we need a long term approach to ensure that trusts have access to the funding they need to replace equipment and invest in cancer services to meet this growing demand.”