Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their assessment of the level of non-medical support available to cancer patients; and what steps they are taking to increase such levels.

The national report of NHS England’s 2014 Cancer Patient Experience Survey showed that of those patients who said they needed it:

- 59% said they were definitely given enough care and help from health or social services after leaving hospital;

- 23% said they were to some extent; and

- 18% said they did not get enough care and help.

We know that the number of cancer survivors continues to grow – there are currently around two million people living in the United Kingdom with a cancer diagnosis, and this is projected to increase to four million by 2030.

There are a number of pieces of work set up to address the needs of people living with and beyond cancer. Macmillan Cancer Support published the first stage of its Routes from Diagnosis work in April 2014, developed in conjunction with Public Health England and Monitor Deloitte. A copy of this report has been placed in the Library.

The National Cancer Survivorship Initiative, a multi-agency public sector/third sector partnership, produced a considerable body of evidence and resources for best practice to support the identified needs for people living with and beyond cancer. These were published in March 2013 in the report Living With and Beyond Cancer – Taking Actions to Improve Outcomes. A copy of this report has been placed in the Library.

NHS England is now delivering a programme of work in collaboration with Macmillan Cancer Support to incorporate a number of these actions into mainstream commissioning and service provision. This work is formally supported by reference to the Cancer Recovery Package in the recently published Five Year Forward View, which aims to ensure care is coordinated between primary and secondary care so that patients are assessed and care planned appropriately. Living with and beyond cancer is also a key theme for the new independent Cancer Taskforce, which will produce a new cancer strategy in summer 2015.