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Barclay refusing to approve diagnostic centres that cannot be opened this year
Steve Barclay has refused to approve about 30 proposed community diagnostic centres – designed to speed up cancer treatment – unless they can be delivered in 2023, HSJ has learned.
HSJ has spoken to several well-placed sources who confirmed the health and social care secretary is determined not to sign off any business cases for community diagnostic centres with a proposed opening date in 2024. But, they added that a 2023 deadline for nearly 30 of the proposed schemes is impossible, as suppliers of crucial equipment – including expensive and complex MRI and CT scanners – cannot respond in time.
Mr Barclay’s stance means the CDCs which were due to open in 2024, and which officials say cannot be brought forward, have been left in limbo. NHS England and local systems are now exploring workarounds, such as temporarily using mobile imaging units while the CDCs are established in attempt to win Mr Barclay’s backing.
One senior source familiar with the issue said: “The secretary of state has set a deadline for CDC approvals of December 2023. The only logic people can see is how it fits with the general election cycle, or his modus operandi which is ‘do everything now because I say so’, whether it is practical or not, and this certainly isn’t. Even when everybody’s telling him, ‘that’s not the right way to do it’ or ‘it won’t work’, he [still] won’t listen.”
Cancer Research UK director of evidence and implementation Naser Turabi said: “Community diagnostic centres can help the NHS diagnose cancers more quickly, but they require capital investment and funding for staff if they are to meet rising demand.
“Restricting the promised expansion of these centres will only lead to longer waits and worse outcomes for cancer patients in England.”
Source: HSJ, 9 May 2023
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Penrith MP leads debate on 'stamping out' under 18s using vapes
Dr Neil Hudson, MP for Penrith and The Border, led a parliamentary debate about the rise of vaping among under-18s and how we can better protect young people.
Dr Hudson MP welcomed MPs from across the political divide to explore this issue with widespread support for 'stamping out' vaping among children.
According to Action on Smoking Health (ASH), in 2022, 7.0% of 11–17-year-olds were current users, compared to 3.3% in 2021.
With bright colours, sweet flavours and a wealth of social media posts behind them, Dr Neil Hudson MP is concerned young people are being targeted by vape producers and putting their health at risk.
Dr Neil Hudson, MP for Penrith and The Border, said: “I was really keen to shine a spotlight on the public health ticking time bomb of vaping in under 18s.
"Vapes have a role to play to help adults stop tobacco smoking, not create nicotine addiction among our children.
“It was a privilege to trigger and lead such a critical debate."
Source: News and Star, 9 May 2023
See also: ASH – Resources on youth vaping
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Opinion: The best drugs for stopping smoking that you probably can’t have – new review
Writing for The Conversation, Jonathan Livingstone-Banks, senior researcher at the University of Oxford, and Nicola Lindson, a research lecturer at the University of Oxford, discuss varenicline and cytisine which are known for their effectiveness as smoking cessation drugs.
They go on to write that varenicline, also know by brand names Champix and Chantix, is listed as an essential medicine by the World Health Organisation because it is one of the most effective ways to quit smoking, it more than doubles a person’s chances of quitting.
However, despite their effectiveness, the authors write that both drugs are currently unavailable in the UK. Production of varenicline was halted by Pfizer as there were unsafe levels of nitrosamines which can cause cancer, although the authors note that tobacco smoke contains higher levels of these chemicals so any danger associated with taking these pills would be outweighed by the health benefits of quitting smoking.
Lindson and Livingstone-Banks write that cytisine is unavailable for other reasons, namely that is has far fewer trials than varenicline and has never been licensed in some countries although this is now changing.
The authors point to the recent speech given by health minister Neil O’Brien in which he addressed the unavailability of these drugs and their commitment to make them accessible again, but that progress towards this feels “excruciatingly slow”.
The authors conclude that in the meantime, other effective smoking cessation aids such as nicotine replacement therapy and e-cigarettes are available.
Source: The Conversation, 5 May 2023
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US: Quitting smoking early linked to better chance of surviving lung cancer
Quitting smoking early is linked to improved survival rates for people diagnosed with lung cancer, research suggests.
The findings indicate that the benefits of giving up smoking before being diagnosed continue to be seen even after a diagnosis.
A study found that among those diagnosed with the most common form of lung cancer: non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC); current smokers had a 68% higher death rate and former smokers had 26% higher death rate compared to people who had never smoked.
According to the findings, the longer a patient had gone without smoking before being diagnosed, the better their odds of survival were.
Never smoking was associated with the best chance of surviving after a lung cancer diagnosis, but the findings showed significant links between lower death rates and having quit smoking pre-diagnosis.
The longer a patient went without smoking, the more health benefits they had, the researchers found.
For former smokers, doubling the years of smoking cessation before their lung cancer diagnosis was significantly associated with prolonged survival, the researchers say.
Hazel Cheeseman, deputy chief executive of Action on Smoking and Health (ASH), said: “Most people find a lung cancer diagnosis terrifying.
“Too often, smokers think the damage is done and there is no point in stopping but quitting gives them the best chances of survival.
“Our healthcare services must reflect this too.
“Too few smokers receive proper support to stop as part of the NHS’s existing lung health check schemes despite evidence that it can double their chances of successfully stopping – this must change in the future.”
Source: The Herald, 5 May 2023
See also: Prediagnosis Smoking Cessation and Overall Survival Among Patients With Non–Small Cell Lung Cancer
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ASH Daily News is a digest of published news on smoking-related topics. ASH is not responsible for the content of external websites. ASH does not necessarily endorse the material contained in this bulletin.
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