Cancer Services — 1 Mar 2006 at 18:50

I beg to move,

That this House recognises that there have been improvements in the provision of cancer care due to the extra investment in the NHS and the hard work and dedication of NHS staff; but notes that a different approach is now needed to raise standards of treatment throughout the entire patient pathway to the best levels achieved in other European countries; believes that more should be done to end the postcode lottery in drugs and treatments; wishes to see more done to raise awareness of the risk factors and symptoms of cancer; further believes that cancer is increasingly a long-term condition and that there should now be a greater recognition of the importance of quality of life issues; and calls on the Government to give the National Institute of Health and Clinical Excellence a much stronger role in establishing holistic standards and entitlements to care covering the entire patient pathway.

I beg to move, To leave out from "House" to the end of the Question, and to add instead thereof:

"recognises that the Government has made the improvement of cancer services a key priority through the implementation of the NHS Cancer Plan which sets out to reorganise and rejuvenate cancer services and has provided the NHS with investment to modernise these services; welcomes the achievements set out in the recent Public Accounts Committee report, the NHS Cancer Plan: a progress report, which acknowledged that significant progress has been made across the country; notes that the total death rate for cancer in people under 75 has fallen by 14 per cent. since 1996; acknowledges that under this Government unprecedented investment in equipment is helping to improve both access to, and reliability of, diagnosis and treatment; further notes that specialist teams have been established across the country to help deliver co-ordinated care to patients in hospitals; further welcomes the fact that the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence is introducing a new fast track assessment process to enable them to issue binding advice to the NHS on the most important new drugs within weeks of them receiving a licence; further notes that this Government has commissioned research to enable initiatives to raise awareness of the symptoms of cancer to be targeted on people most at risk; further notes that there has been a 43 per cent. increase in cancer consultants since 1997; acknowledges that there has been a 40 per cent. increase in cancers detected through breast screening; and further welcomes the Government's commitment to continuing to deliver the commitments in the NHS Cancer Plan."

Question put accordingly, That the original words stand part of the Question:-

The House divided: Ayes 228, Noes 294.

Debate in Parliament | Source |