John Baron MP presses new Secretary of State over inconvenient truth over process targets

MP highlights need to adopt cancer outcome indicators

At Health Questions in the House of Commons today, John Baron MP pressed the Cancer Minister, Steve Brine MP, about the need to embrace outcome indicators, such as the one-year survival rate, as a means of catching up with international average cancer survival rates.

In the Chamber, John asked,

“In welcoming the new Secretary of State to his post, there remains the inconvenient truth that, despite all Governments bombarding the NHS with process targets over recent decades, cancer survival rates are not catching up with international averages. The last Government estimate suggested this is needlessly costing 10,000 lives a year.”

“Will the Minister work with the new Secretary of State when drawing up the next Cancer Strategy to put outcome indicators at the very heart of the process? For example, holding the local NHS accountable for its one-year figures would encourage initiatives promoting earlier diagnosis – cancer’s ‘magic key’”.

The Minister, Steve Brine MP thanked John for chairing the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Cancer (APPGC) for nine years, and said that improving cancer outcomes will be at the centre of the next Cancer Strategy.

Afterwards, John said,

“The APPGC campaigned hard over many years to get the one-year survival rate into the DNA of the local NHS. This is a major achievement, as it will help promote earlier diagnosis. However, the money is still linked to the existing process targets. As work begins on the new five-year cancer strategy due in 2020, I hope the new Secretary of State will shift the emphasis to outcomes rather than process targets.”