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• Topic Summary
• Data & Trends
• Supporting Documents

1. Reducing variability between GP practices in screening coverage and access to services.

2. Improving outcomes (not just survival) regarding quality of life, palliative care, support for families, support to patients and carers;

3. Improving access to radiotherapy and reducing waiting times for radiotherapy treatments;

4. Improve data collection and analysis to inform commissioning, monitor inequalities

The potential impact of the Bowel screening programme on resources with the anticipated increase in colorectal cancers.

The primary target for cancer is a minimum 20% reduction in cancer mortality by 2010 from the 1995/97 rate and that fewer people will die prematurely from cancer, heart disease and stroke before the age of 75. Thus the risks of not delivering in other areas, such as smoking and physical activity and diet obesity, will have an impact on cancer outcomes. In particular,

• Inadequate data and intelligence to inform commissioning, monitor inequalities,  assess quality and promote choice
• The Cancer Reform Strategy will have major implications on the delivery of the service.  The planned expansion of the programme and the move to digitalised mammography will have workforce and funding implications
• Lack of resources - staff/physical infrastructure/ finance - for the expansion of the breast screening programme;
• Improving access to radiotherapy and reducing waiting times for radiotherapy treatments;

• Smoking prevalence remains higher than the national average - reflecting our socio economic landscape.  Whilst we are targeting resources at the most deprived areas, smoking prevalence is not reducing as quickly as we would like.
• There is a variability between GP practices in screening coverage
• There is a variability in access to services;
• We need to improve access to radiotherapy and reduce waiting times for radiotherapy treatments;

Prevention remains the best form of tackling cancer, reducing the human suffering caused by the disease and improving outcomes. There is also a strong economic case for investing more in prevention, therefore reducing the pressure on services in the long term. 

Reducing smoking prevalence

Smoking is the single largest preventable risk factor for cancer. See the smoking section for further details of reducing smoking prevalence in Newcastle.

Our Vision is taken primarily from the North East's Strategy for health and well-being - Better Health, Fairer Health:  A Strategy for 21st Century Health and Well-being in the North East of England which was launched in February 2008.  The vision statements which are most relevant in relation to cancer are:

Locally: