Charity identifies shortfall of more than 3,000 cancer nurses in England alone as patients risk ending up in A&E or with medication issues due to lack of support.
In a new report, it is calling on the Government to create a ringfenced Cancer Nurse Training Fund to train the nurses needed to fill this shortfall.
Originally published: Wednesday 8th September 2021
The cancer nurse crisis has now left more than half a million people with cancer in the UK (21%; 630,000)i with a lack of support, with dedicated healthcare professionals struggling to provide the vital care needed in “worsening conditions”, according to a leading charity. The number lacking support from a specialist cancer nurse rises to one in four (25%) of those diagnosed in the last two years — including at least 75,000 people diagnosed since the start of the pandemic ii.
The new research by Macmillan Cancer Support shows the alarming cost of ongoing cancer nursing shortages on the NHS and on cancer patient care. It reveals almost half of all people (44%) who were diagnosed with cancer in the last two years and lacked support experienced at least one potentially serious medical implication as a result, such as ending up in A&E, not knowing if they were taking their medication correctly or what side effects to look out for iii.
In the most serious cases, the charity is concerned that this lack of support may even be affecting some people’s chances of survival iv.
The charity’s research also found patients who lacked specialist nursing support were considerably more likely to experience depression or anxiety related to their cancer diagnosis, doubts about whether it was worth having their treatment, or even suicidal thoughts (see fact box).
Macmillan Cancer Support is warning that cancer nurses are being put under immense and growing strain in a system was a breaking point even before the pandemic. With the number of people diagnosed with cancer each year in the UK estimated to rise by 16% to 480,000 in 2030 v, this crisis is only set to deepen over time.
In a new report, Cancer nursing on the line, the charity estimates that more than 3,000 additional cancer nurses are needed in England alone to ensure cancer patients get the care and support they need. Not only would a fully resourced specialist nursing workforce help save and improve patients’ lives, it would reduce pressure on and could also create savings for the NHS as it struggles to cope with the impact of Covid-19.
The charity is calling on the Government to create a ringfenced Cancer Nurse Training Fund of £124 million to train an extra 3,371 specialist cancer nurses in England at the upcoming Comprehensive Spending Review. This will help to ensure there are enough staff to provide patients with the quality of care they need and deserve. Without this, the Government risks failing on commitments to treat cancer quickly and appropriately, leaving thousands of patients struggling to access their cancer care.
Lynda Thomas, Chief Executive at Macmillan Cancer Support, says:
“Coronavirus is continuing to deliver a devastating blow to cancer care that was already over-stretched before the pandemic. Good care is a lifeline, not a luxury, and staff shortages mean exhausted nurses are struggling to deliver vital care in worsening conditions.
“People living with cancer and our NHS workforce don’t need warm words of thanks or sympathy from governments. They need action. We need to see urgent commitments to address the shocking shortfall in cancer nurses. If governments fail to rebuild cancer services, all of us will pay the price when we or our families face a cancer diagnosis.”
Macmillan’s new research also shows that almost one in three (31%) of those recently diagnosed with cancer in the UK felt the healthcare professionals working on their care had unmanageable workloads vi.
Life Coach Ruth Godfrey, 56, from Norfolk, was diagnosed with breast cancer in December 2019. Due to the pandemic, she lived alone during treatment and wasn’t allowed any visitors with her while having her chemotherapy. She says:
“I didn’t have a nurse present when I was told by my oncologist in February 2020 that I needed chemotherapy to treat my breast cancer. I was given a load of leaflets and then waited in a dark room for a nurse who didn’t turn up and so I went home feeling upset with my head spinning. The next day I received a quick call from a nurse to say she had booked me in for a PICC line, but I had no idea what that was and had to google it while I was at work.”
“I felt like I was caught in a huge tidal wave, it was utterly terrifying. The problem is that nurses are so busy that they often don’t explain things and you don’t ask as you feel you’re being a pain. It seems like the pressure is on you to chase things up. If I could have had one breast cancer nurse who was my support person that I knew I could turn to when I had questions or needed help, that would have completely changed the experience. I was treated, but there was not enough care and compassion. It was Macmillan I went to for support and advice. They were my backbone and gave me the clarity I needed.”
In a new report, it is calling on the Government to create a ringfenced Cancer Nurse Training Fund to train the nurses needed to fill this shortfall.
Originally published: Wednesday 8th September 2021
The cancer nurse crisis has now left more than half a million people with cancer in the UK (21%; 630,000)i with a lack of support, with dedicated healthcare professionals struggling to provide the vital care needed in “worsening conditions”, according to a leading charity. The number lacking support from a specialist cancer nurse rises to one in four (25%) of those diagnosed in the last two years — including at least 75,000 people diagnosed since the start of the pandemic ii.
The new research by Macmillan Cancer Support shows the alarming cost of ongoing cancer nursing shortages on the NHS and on cancer patient care. It reveals almost half of all people (44%) who were diagnosed with cancer in the last two years and lacked support experienced at least one potentially serious medical implication as a result, such as ending up in A&E, not knowing if they were taking their medication correctly or what side effects to look out for iii.
In the most serious cases, the charity is concerned that this lack of support may even be affecting some people’s chances of survival iv.
The charity’s research also found patients who lacked specialist nursing support were considerably more likely to experience depression or anxiety related to their cancer diagnosis, doubts about whether it was worth having their treatment, or even suicidal thoughts (see fact box).
Macmillan Cancer Support is warning that cancer nurses are being put under immense and growing strain in a system was a breaking point even before the pandemic. With the number of people diagnosed with cancer each year in the UK estimated to rise by 16% to 480,000 in 2030 v, this crisis is only set to deepen over time.
In a new report, Cancer nursing on the line, the charity estimates that more than 3,000 additional cancer nurses are needed in England alone to ensure cancer patients get the care and support they need. Not only would a fully resourced specialist nursing workforce help save and improve patients’ lives, it would reduce pressure on and could also create savings for the NHS as it struggles to cope with the impact of Covid-19.
The charity is calling on the Government to create a ringfenced Cancer Nurse Training Fund of £124 million to train an extra 3,371 specialist cancer nurses in England at the upcoming Comprehensive Spending Review. This will help to ensure there are enough staff to provide patients with the quality of care they need and deserve. Without this, the Government risks failing on commitments to treat cancer quickly and appropriately, leaving thousands of patients struggling to access their cancer care.
Lynda Thomas, Chief Executive at Macmillan Cancer Support, says:
“Coronavirus is continuing to deliver a devastating blow to cancer care that was already over-stretched before the pandemic. Good care is a lifeline, not a luxury, and staff shortages mean exhausted nurses are struggling to deliver vital care in worsening conditions.
“People living with cancer and our NHS workforce don’t need warm words of thanks or sympathy from governments. They need action. We need to see urgent commitments to address the shocking shortfall in cancer nurses. If governments fail to rebuild cancer services, all of us will pay the price when we or our families face a cancer diagnosis.”
Macmillan’s new research also shows that almost one in three (31%) of those recently diagnosed with cancer in the UK felt the healthcare professionals working on their care had unmanageable workloads vi.
Life Coach Ruth Godfrey, 56, from Norfolk, was diagnosed with breast cancer in December 2019. Due to the pandemic, she lived alone during treatment and wasn’t allowed any visitors with her while having her chemotherapy. She says:
“I didn’t have a nurse present when I was told by my oncologist in February 2020 that I needed chemotherapy to treat my breast cancer. I was given a load of leaflets and then waited in a dark room for a nurse who didn’t turn up and so I went home feeling upset with my head spinning. The next day I received a quick call from a nurse to say she had booked me in for a PICC line, but I had no idea what that was and had to google it while I was at work.”
“I felt like I was caught in a huge tidal wave, it was utterly terrifying. The problem is that nurses are so busy that they often don’t explain things and you don’t ask as you feel you’re being a pain. It seems like the pressure is on you to chase things up. If I could have had one breast cancer nurse who was my support person that I knew I could turn to when I had questions or needed help, that would have completely changed the experience. I was treated, but there was not enough care and compassion. It was Macmillan I went to for support and advice. They were my backbone and gave me the clarity I needed.”
Cancer nursing on the line is calling on Governments across the UK to:
- Invest a total of around £170 million to fund the training costs of creating nearly 4,000 specialist cancer nurses required in 2030 to provide the care people need vii.
Fact box:
- People diagnosed with cancer in the UK in the last two years who lacked support from a specialist cancer nurse are:
- 52% more likely to reported depression or anxiety related to their cancer diagnosis, compared with those who received enough support or did not need any (64% versus 42%)
- More than twice as likely to have had doubts about whether it was worth having treatment for their cancer (32% versus 14%)
- Four times as likely to have had suicidal thoughts related to their cancer diagnosis (19% versus 4%)viii
References
[i] Macmillan Cancer Support/YouGov survey of 2,032 adults with a previous cancer diagnosis. Fieldwork was undertaken between 30th July — 15th August 2021. The survey was carried out online. The figures have been weighted and are representative of people living with cancer (aged 18+). 21% of respondents had either not received any support from a specialist cancer nurse during their diagnosis or treatment and would have liked to, or said the support they received was not enough. The 630,000 figure is estimated by applying the 21% to the 3 million people living with cancer in the UK. 3 million figure is taken from: Macmillan Cancer Support. Calculating cancer prevalence.
[ii] As per ref i. Survey included 484 people diagnosed in the past 2 years. For those diagnosed within the past year specifically, 22% said they lacked support from a specialist nurse; the figure for those diagnosed 1–2 years ago was 27%. To estimate how many people this represents who have been diagnosed since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, we took the 22% figure as the conservative estimate for the full time period from March 2020 to August 2021, and applied this to the best available match for this time period from the COVID-19 rapid cancer registration and treatment data from Public Health England’s National Cancer Registration and Analysis Services. The best available match was for the 14-month period of March 2020 to April 2021 inclusive, giving a figure of at least 297,200 people diagnosed with cancer during this period in England. Assuming England represents around 83% of total UK cancer incidence, as pre-Covid, we estimate at least 358,000 people will have been diagnosed with cancer since March 2020 in the UK. 22% of this figure equates to around 78,800.
[iii] As per ref i. Among those diagnosed in the past 2 years who lacked support from a specialist nurse, 44% said they had experienced at least one of the following: ending up in A&E, being unsure if they were taking their medication correctly, or being unsure what side-effects of their treatment they should be looking out for.
[iv] Among people with lung cancer in England receiving radiotherapy only, or surgery, as treatment, risk of death was lower among those who received an assessment by a lung cancer nurse specialist, compared with no assessment. Source: Stewart I, Leary A, Khakwani A et al. Do working practices of cancer nurse specialists improve clinical outcomes? Retrospective cohort analysis from the English National Lung Cancer Audit. Int J of Nursing Studies, 2021. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0020748920302042
[v] Percentage increase in diagnosis between 2021 and 2030 for adults diagnosed with all cancers excluding non-melanoma skin cancer plus benign brain other CNS and intracranial tumours Smittenaar CR, Petersen KA, Stewart K, Moitt N. Cancer Incidence and Mortality Projections in the UK Until 2035. Brit J Cancer 2016. https://www.nature.com/articles/bjc2016304
[vi] As per ref i. By recently diagnosed, we mean those diagnosed in the past two years.
[vii] This also includes the cost of funding the required nursing undergraduate degrees in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, where these are not self-funded.
[viii] As per ref i. Among the 484 respondents diagnosed in the last two years, 123 people lacked support, and 333 either received enough support or didn’t need any
[ii] As per ref i. Survey included 484 people diagnosed in the past 2 years. For those diagnosed within the past year specifically, 22% said they lacked support from a specialist nurse; the figure for those diagnosed 1–2 years ago was 27%. To estimate how many people this represents who have been diagnosed since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, we took the 22% figure as the conservative estimate for the full time period from March 2020 to August 2021, and applied this to the best available match for this time period from the COVID-19 rapid cancer registration and treatment data from Public Health England’s National Cancer Registration and Analysis Services. The best available match was for the 14-month period of March 2020 to April 2021 inclusive, giving a figure of at least 297,200 people diagnosed with cancer during this period in England. Assuming England represents around 83% of total UK cancer incidence, as pre-Covid, we estimate at least 358,000 people will have been diagnosed with cancer since March 2020 in the UK. 22% of this figure equates to around 78,800.
[iii] As per ref i. Among those diagnosed in the past 2 years who lacked support from a specialist nurse, 44% said they had experienced at least one of the following: ending up in A&E, being unsure if they were taking their medication correctly, or being unsure what side-effects of their treatment they should be looking out for.
[iv] Among people with lung cancer in England receiving radiotherapy only, or surgery, as treatment, risk of death was lower among those who received an assessment by a lung cancer nurse specialist, compared with no assessment. Source: Stewart I, Leary A, Khakwani A et al. Do working practices of cancer nurse specialists improve clinical outcomes? Retrospective cohort analysis from the English National Lung Cancer Audit. Int J of Nursing Studies, 2021. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0020748920302042
[v] Percentage increase in diagnosis between 2021 and 2030 for adults diagnosed with all cancers excluding non-melanoma skin cancer plus benign brain other CNS and intracranial tumours Smittenaar CR, Petersen KA, Stewart K, Moitt N. Cancer Incidence and Mortality Projections in the UK Until 2035. Brit J Cancer 2016. https://www.nature.com/articles/bjc2016304
[vi] As per ref i. By recently diagnosed, we mean those diagnosed in the past two years.
[vii] This also includes the cost of funding the required nursing undergraduate degrees in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, where these are not self-funded.
[viii] As per ref i. Among the 484 respondents diagnosed in the last two years, 123 people lacked support, and 333 either received enough support or didn’t need any