The NHS is spending significant sums on emergency care of cancer patients because of inadequate after-care following treatment, it was claimed today.
The total cost of emergency care for patients with four common cancers is £500 million, according to Macmillan Cancer Support.
And about a third of this is spent on patients who have lived six months after diagnosis and would usually have finished initial treatment, it says.
The charity blames a lack of post-diagnosis support for adding to the pressure on A&E departments.
It says that by 2020, the total cost of care of cancer patients after initial treatment will reach £1.4 billion a year.
Juliet Bouverie, from the charity, said that implementing the English cancer strategy would help reduce these costs.
She said: “Emergency care should be a last resort for people living with cancer, and the fact that such vast amounts are spent on it each year is symptomatic of a system that is not geared towards helping people take control of their health. This has to change, and the government and NHS must take the difficult but vital decision to fully fund this shift.
“The story does not end when someone’s treatment finishes, and many people live with the effects of cancer for the rest of their life. This means the NHS needs the money to care for people far beyond initial treatment.
"There will be significant cost implications in the future if the government and NHS do not invest now."
Leave a Reply