"Senior cancer doctors are warning that excessive red tape means some patients in England are struggling to access the latest cancer treatments. The Royal College of Radiologists (RCR) says bureaucracy is "stifling innovation" and that applying for funding to pay for new treatments can be "cumbersome" for some cancer centres. It says the situation is leading to an unacceptable postcode lottery with some cutting-edge treatments only available in the larger, better-funded units."
"The RCR says that even some well-established advances, such as Stereotactic Ablative Body Radiotherapy - or SABR - can still be difficult to access. SABR is a way of more accurately targeting the disease with a precise dose of high-strength radiation, and is typically used to treat very small tumours in the lungs, liver, lymph nodes and brain. The RCR says individual cancer units still have to apply to NHS England to fund its use, leading to a postcode lottery where some patients lose out."
Excessive NHS bureaucracy and complex funding applications are preventing some patients in England from accessing the latest cancer treatments. The resulting postcode lottery concentrates cutting-edge therapies in larger, better-funded centres while smaller units struggle to secure approvals. Survival rates for many common cancers have risen with advances such as immunotherapy and more precise radiotherapy, yet access remains unequal. Even established techniques like Stereotactic Ablative Body Radiotherapy (SABR) face funding hurdles despite its ability to deliver a precise, high-strength radiation dose to very small tumours in lungs, liver, lymph nodes and brain. Calls exist to cut red tape and align commissioning with clinical expertise, and a new government cancer strategy is due later in the year.
Read at www.bbc.com
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