The British Liver Trust has joined forces with other cancer charities to call for more clarity on the workforce funding announced in the Government’s Spending Review.
The coalition of charities, One Cancer Voice, wrote a letter to the Chancellor Rishi Sunak and Health Secretary Sajid Javid, seeking clarity in the announcement in the Government’s Spending Review that: "The government will provide hundreds of millions of pounds in additional funding over the SR21 period to ensure a bigger and better trained NHS workforce".
The Government had previously said it would confirm cancer spending allocations and profiles as part of the Spending Review, however this detail was absent in the Spending Review announcement and associated documents.
Investment in the cancer workforce is critical to clear the cancer backlog, meeting early diagnosis targets and improving survival and care. Although the British Liver Trust recognises and welcomes commitments in the Spending Review, we know that investment will not deliver the desired outcome if it is not mirrored by an accompanying increase in staffing levels to deliver these services.
Vanessa Hebditch, Director of Policy and Communications at the British Liver Trust, says: “Liver cancer is the fastest rising cause of cancer death in the UK and, sadly, only 13% of people with the condition survive for 5 years or more. The earlier the diagnosis, the better the patient’s chances of survival, which is why we urgently need more trained cancer staff to meet demand. We are keen to understand when more information will be made available from the Government and how we can use our collective expertise to support its decision making.”
