Private sector’s offer on cancer
The private healthcare sector has welcomed the opportunities afforded by the Government’s announcement of a new ten-year cancer plan to improve the detection and treatment of cancer for millions of people every year.
David Hare, chief executive of the Independent Healthcare Providers Network (IHPN), said: ‘Independent healthcare providers played a vital role in ensuring NHS cancer care could continue during the pandemic – delivering over 140,000 cancer treatments to NHS patients during 2020-21.
‘To ensure as many people as possible can receive life-saving treatment in the future, we need to build on these partnerships so that the NHS can access the high quality diagnostic, surgical and proton beam capacity that is available in the sector – helping to make the health system world leading in cancer care.’
Prof Karol Sikora, chief medical officer at Rutherford Health, said: ‘The terrible impact of the Covid-19 pandemic means we have to go to war on cancer like never before and the Government’s announcement should be welcomed around the country.
‘It is all hands on deck and this war can begin in earnest today. A step change in rapid diagnostic services is the place to begin and there is a real opportunity for the NHS and the independent sector to work together to get to grips with this right away.’