Is cancer care in the UK broken?

[robison1]

The Lancet Oncology <[e-mail]>

Subject :Vol.16 | Number 13 | Oct 1, 2015. Yikes. How sad and frustrating and disgusting.

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I left this site to read the above article. I am not surprised really as it seems there is a general breakdown of communication between oncologists and hospital Managers. Is it the way the Managers do not want to listen to the concerns of the highly qualified oncologists?. Here in Ireland, there is a similar pattern emerging. Treatments are postponed because the oncology unit is filled to capacity. I have been on treatment since 2006/2007. In my hospital alone, there are more patients because people are now able to live with Cancer as an illness however while the patient load has increased, unfortunately the staffing levels remain the same. If a staff member is out for holiday or sick leave, there is no one to replace her. There does not appear to be anyone on standby who can cannulate patients, and attach the chemo infusion and monitor the pump and patients. Our Crisis here is not just in Accident and Emergency, it is in the whole system. The system is indeed broken.

Surely the survival rates published are way out of date and if Health Boards or HSE are going by out of date data, then they cant have it right. So perhaps the English system is running much the same. Some drugs are available and mostly it is not down to a postal code here in Ireland. We are told we have centres of excellence for Cancer Patients around the Country. However, I fail to see excellence, apart from extremely hard working nurses and oncologists who work together as a team, They are kind caring and compassionate. I cannot praise my Unit enough, the CNS always have a smile and monitor the patients regularly. They do their best on the front line.

Like many, I feel our Minister like his predecessors has failed dismally especially this week as he has suggested that illnesses can be prevented. If there is a genetic link which there is to Ovarian Cancer, then he isnt making much sense. I hope I am making a bit of sense in this reply. All we can do is fight our corner, make noise to the mps in the UK and to the dail members, hospital management and any patient advocacy group you may know.