Assembly health committee publishes cancer services report

The Northern Ireland Assembly Health, Social Services and Public Safety Committee have published their report into cancer services in Northern Ireland.

The report focused on the increase in the occurrence of cancers, the quality of and access to services and progress against recommendations in the Campbell Report 'Cancer Services: Investing for the Future'.

Taking evidence from a wide range of bodies and individuals on the current position on cancer treatment and care the committee made 41 specific recommendations for improvements to services.

The committee recommended an effort to reduce waiting times, improved cancer prevention, greater co-operation between all official bodies involved in cancer treatment in Northern Ireland and that the Executive begin a campaign for a significant funding increase.

The committee acknowledged the lack of cancer specialists working in Northern Ireland and recommended a long-term regional workforce plan be put in place to sustain the recruitment and retention of a range of specialist staff, including surgeons, GPs, nurses, therapists, scientists, technicians and administrative support staff.

However, the committee was concerned that action to implement the Campbell Report’s recommendation for a regional centre has been slow. It is now six years since the go-ahead was given for a new Regional Cancer Centre and local Cancer Units, and the committee suggested that the centre is the key missing link to a modern, fully integrated cancer service.

Bairbre de Brún, Minister for Health, Social Services and Public Safety, welcomed the report as "important and valuable", and maintained that the new Regional Cancer Centre will happen.

Ms de Brún said: “The Trust and clinicians involved made the case that we needed a state of the art facility, incorporating new and emerging technology, and building on advances in patient care and treatment. They stressed that the cancer centre needed to be designed and equipped to serve the community well into the century.

“I agreed that a revised business case should be produced, to achieve this vision of a modern patient-friendly centre. This work, has drawn on expert advice and the latest planning guidelines available to us, and has resulted in a substantial re-modelling of the centre.

The Minister said that the business case for the new cancer centre has been approved at £57 million and she was "urgently considering" the financing of the new facility and would be seeking support for the project from the next round of funding.

(GB)