British Liver Trust joins over 50 cancer charities to call on the Government to ensure better cancer care

The British Liver Trust has worked with over 50 other charities, including Cancer Research UK, Macamillan and the Less Survivable Cancer Taskforce to submit a consensus statement on the Government’s Call for Evidence to inform a new 10-year Cancer Plan.

Drawing on our collective experiences from supporting people living with cancer, research, data and insight, we have developed this consensus statement, setting out what actions Government and the NHS need to take to ensure people diagnosed with cancer in England get the very best care and treatment.

If the new 10-year Cancer Plan is to be successful in delivering world leading and transformative change then we believe it must meet the following 10 tests:

1. The 10-year Cancer Plan has clear political leadership, is fully costed and funded throughout its lifetime, with an annual report published on progress made against its ambitions.
2. More cancers are prevented and England is ‘smoke free’ by 2030
3. The public is aware of the risk factors, signs and symptoms of cancer and act on them, leading to improvements in presentation. Emergency presentation is reduced to no more than 5%.
4. Progress towards early diagnosis is accelerated so that 78% of people are diagnosed at stage one or stage two and a 95% Faster Diagnosis Standard is met.
5. Every person with cancer can access the treatment they need, at the right time, for the best outcomes. Cancer Waiting Time targets are met in every part of the country.
6. By 2032, everyone with cancer is able to access a needs assessment and personalised care plan to support their health and wider wellbeing needs.
7. Workforce and equipment shortages are addressed so that every person with cancer has access to the specialist workforce they need when they need it.
8. Cases of cancer attributable to inequalities have meaningfully decreased.
9. Clinical research capacity is increased, health service staff have access to dedicated research time and training and all populations are given the opportunity to participate in clinical trials.
10. Data collection is timely, accessible, standardised and comprehensive and it is analysed and published swiftly to support the delivery and monitoring of all aspects of cancer across the pathway and cancer research.

These tests are elaborated on in the full consensus statement, which can be read here.