Cancer Care
1/214. What steps his Department is taking to improve cancer care.
We are committed to transforming cancer care, having already invested £70 million in new radiotherapy machines to help patients to be treated more quickly. We are investing £26 million in the NHS, opening community diagnostic centres in the evening and at weekends to catch cancer early, and our national cancer plan will have patients at its heart—from referral to diagnosis, treatment and ongoing care.
My constituent Mike lost his wife to cancer, but as well as battling the physical symptoms, she faced devastating mental health effects, becoming deeply depressed after her terminal diagnosis. Despite that, she never received appropriate mental health support, and this significant issue for cancer patients should be addressed as part of our welcome reforms to palliative care. Could the relevant Minister meet me and Mike to discuss his campaign to improve mental health support for those with a terminal diagnosis?
Of course, I am sorry to hear about the loss of my hon. Friend’s constituent’s wife, and our thoughts are with him and his family. My hon. Friend raises an excellent point, and we are supporting people with cancer who are experiencing poor mental health care by expanding access to psychological therapies through NHS talking therapies. I am sure that the Under-Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, my hon. Friend the Member for West Lancashire (Ashley Dalton), will be happy to talk to him as she develops her cancer plan to ensure that these issues are incorporated.
A constituent of mine recently had successful high-intensity focused ultrasound treatment for prostate cancer, which was at Charing Cross hospital because it is not even offered to men at Portsmouth hospitals, despite being a less invasive treatment with fewer long-term health implications. As if to underline that inequality, imagine his surprise when he turned up at the hospital and found that the same doctor who had diagnosed him in Portsmouth was actually carrying out the procedure in London. What more are the Government doing to ensure that there is no postcode lottery when it comes to HIFU, and what will the Minister do to ensure that more men can access it?
I thank the hon. Lady for that question and for her work on this issue. She makes a really important point about consistency of care. We understand that services are different in different parts of the country—sometimes the needs are different—but we want to ensure that, where there is good practice and proven evidence, care is rolled out. As we say, bring the best of the NHS to the rest of the NHS. I am sure that the Under-Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, my hon. Friend the Member for West Lancashire (Ashley Dalton), will take note of that point.