Equity of access to cancer treatment
An analysis of travel times to radiotherapy services
across the UK
1 in 2 of us will get cancer at some point in our lives. When that happens, cancer specialists decide the best way to treat each specific cancer for each individual.
Radiotherapy is one of these crucial life-saving treatments and 50% of cancer patients will need it.
Working with leading data analytics expert Dr Alasdair Rae, Radiotherapy UK have captured the reality of accessing radiotherapy treatment in the United Kingdom, and what this means for cancer patients.
We have discovered, based on travel times to a 9.30am appointment when travelling by private car, that 22% of the total population of the UK are further than the recommended 45 minutes from their closest radiotherapy service.
When analysing time by public transport for a 9.30am radiotherapy appointment this increases to a staggering 75%.
This analysis covers current access to radiotherapy, an overview of the 45 minute benchmark, key findings, what this means for patients with cancer and recommendations for the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care.
This report was made possible thanks to the support of Ergéa
