Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what progress has been made within the National Cancer Strategy to ensure all men with prostate cancer have access to a clinical nurse specialist or key worker.

NHS England, along with partners Health Education England, have carried out a series of engagement and consultation exercises with a wide group of stakeholders, including Macmillan Cancer Support, to explore the best approach to improving access to clinical nurse specialists for all patients, including men with prostate cancer.

NHS England’s Patient Experience Team has identified a number of alternative and sustainable models of providing access to clinical nurse specialists or key worker to support all patients through their cancer treatment and beyond. NHS England plan to identify a Cancer Alliance best suited to pilot these models with a view to evaluating the outcomes of this work and share learning in December 2018. Part of the learning will be how Cancer Alliances roll out best practice in this area including prostate cancer care.