Member News
New best practice guidelines to improve the quality and safety of chemotherapy have been published by the government.
The Department of Health has called on all hospitals with emergency departments to establish acute oncology services, insuring the correct treatment of emergency cancer patients.
The request follows the publication of a report by the National Chemotherapy Advisory Group which highlighted the need to extend the availability of such emergency treatment.
The move is also expected to benefit previously undiagnosed patients in need of emergency care.
Friday's report called for a new framework for the commissioning, delivering and monitoring of chemotherapy services.
And it urged better teamwork within hospitals and across networks to improve the treatment of patients.
The report concluded that both commissioners and providers of chemotherapy services should "urgently work together" to ensure effective communication systems are in place to for emergency staff to find out about a patient's treatment and condition.
Comprehensive patient assessment and good communication between an oncologist and a patient are central to the delivery of high quality services, said the study.
National cancer director Mike Richards said move would be cost-neutral overall as an improvement in treatment would mean shorter stats for patients in hospital.
"The use of chemotherapy has expanded markedly in recent years and while this had brought huge benefits to the majority of patients, serious concerns have been identified in the quality and safety of treatments," he said.
Health minister Ann Keen added: "All cancer treatment in Britain has improved vastly in recent years due to the excellent progress the NHS has made in improving cancer outcomes and services for patients.
"The challenge now is to keep up this momentum and we will now work with the NHS to implement the recommendations of this report."
Dods Parliamentary Communications Ltd