On the 16th November 2022 Radiotherapy UK with their #CatchUpWithCancer campaign and the All Party Parliamentary Group for Radiotherapy (APPGRT) held a parliamentary drop in event at Westminster. This event was intended to bring MP’s and Ministers into the room to highlight the growing crisis in cancer and the significant cancer backlog and to galvanise parliamentary support even further. At this event, parliamentarians were able to hear about the latest cancer treatment waiting times for their area, data on excess cancer deaths, information about their constituent’s nearest radiotherapy centre, and workforce survey results as conducted by Radiotherapy UK. The APPG for Radiotherapy also launched their Post-Covid Updated Manifesto.
There was representation at the event from frontline workforce, industry, SoR, IPEM and RCR as well as Radiotherapy UK to call on the Government to prioritise radiotherapy treatment capacity and highlight the growing cancer waiting times to parliamentarians.
With the Government about to launch its new cancer plan this event was a vital opportunity for the radiotherapy profession to ensure our voice is heard. The event saw 51 parliamentarians attend.
Information presented to parliamentarians’ included:
Cancer treatment waiting times
The Government has set a target in England of no more than 15% of cancer patients waiting longer than the recommended
62-day wait between the date the hospital receives an urgent referral for suspected cancer and the start of the treatment.
Latest cancer waiting time figures, released on 10 November 2022 by NHS England, show that in Q2 of 2022/2023, 38.7% of
patients across England were waiting beyond the 62-day target between July and September 2022. That is over double the
Government’s own target.
Travel time
3.4 million people live beyond the recommended 45-minute travel time to a radiotherapy centre which directly impacts their cancer treatment.
Cancer experts warn that the further patients live from radiotherapy centres, the less likely they are to access time critical radiotherapy cancer care.
Cancer excess deaths
According to the Office for Health Improvements and Disparities, since March 2020 until October 2022, there have been
8814 excess cancer deaths in England. This averages at 65 excess cancer deaths per week.
APPGRT Manifesto update
APPG for Radiotherapy took this opportunity to update its manifesto for radiotherapy highlighting the current situation in cancer treatment and the solutions radiotherapy can provide now and for the future to help deal with the waiting list. You can access the manifesto here on our website.
Key asks
Parliamentarians at the event were asked to sign a letter to the Prime Minister calling for him to meet with representatives of the APPGRT and the cancer community to discuss rising waiting times for cancer treatment and the role of radiotherapy. So far over 29 Parliamentarians have agreed to add their names.
In a follow up email with attending Parliamentarians, MPs were asked to:
• Add their names to an EDM on Radiotherapy and the 10-Year Cancer Plan
• Share a blog post and social media graphics
• Become a member of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Radiotherapy and/or a supporter of the #CatchUpWithCancer campaign.
• Send a letter to the Health Secretary Steve Barclay asking him to prioritise radiotherapy in the upcoming 10-Year Cancer Plan.
• Table WPQs.
