News

NHS England to lead an incident management team as Care Quality Commission finds failings in cancer services at Colchester Hospital University Foundation Trust.

NHS England is to lead a team of cancer specialists to ensure the safety of cancer patients following a critical report by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) into services at Colchester Hospital University Foundation Trust (CHUFT). NHS England shares the serious concerns of the CQC’s inspectors whose report reveals failures in the way some cancer […]

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Radiotherapy manufacturers demonstrate latest innovations in cancer care

Manufacturers of radiotherapy equipment who are planning innovations that may change the shape of cancer care are to pitch to NHS England, Cancer Research UK and radiotherapy experts in a dragons-den style event to show the latest products available for carrying out innovative radiotherapies. The event, which takes place on the 8th and 9th October, […]

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NHS England sanctions new breast cancer treatment injection

NHS England has today sanctioned a faster, more comfortable method for giving Trastuzumab (Herceptin) to breast cancer patients. From the 24th September a new sub cutaneous (SC) form of the drug will be commissioned.  Herceptin SC will primarily be used to treat women with early breast cancer who currently get the drug with chemotherapy before […]

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Final three specialties publish consultant outcomes data

The remaining three of ten specialist surgical societies will publish outcomes data for individual hospital consultants, including mortality rates, from today. This completes the staged ‘pilot’ publication of this data that started in June this year. It is part of NHS England’s drive for greater transparency and a commitment to providing patients with more information […]

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Cancer patients positive about their care

Cancer patients experience of care, is improving with 88 percent of patients reporting their care was either excellent or very good. The national cancer patient experience survey published today reported the views of 116,000 cancer patients in all 155 NHS Trusts that provide treatment to patients with cancer. The survey showed improvements in many areas […]

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More patients benefit as specialist cancer drugs fast track list expands

NHS England has today, for the first time, published figures showing the number of times patients have been prescribed specialist drugs that are available as part of the national Cancer Drugs Fund list. Cancer Drugs Fund list quarterly figures: April – June 2013/14 The data shows an increase in the amount of drugs prescribed from […]

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Ensuring effective estrogen receptor testing

NHS England has today provided interim advice to NHS organisations in light of a CQC investigation and a Royal College of Pathologists report earlier this year into breast cancer receptor testing. Advice to the NHS is that where histopathology laboratories are performing breast cancer receptor testing, they should ensure that the antibodies used for estrogen […]

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NHS England has today published an interim national policy statement outlining its position on access to Selective Internal Radiation Therapy (SIRT)

NHS England has today published an interim national policy statement outlining its position on access to Selective Internal Radiation Therapy (SIRT), a form of radiotherapy which is used in the treatment of liver cancer. Previous commissioning arrangements for this treatment varied around the country and therefore the policy statement has been developed using a rapid […]

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