UK cancer spending reaches new high according to government

New figures released by the UK government show record levels of investment in cancer services. Since 2000/01, additional investment in cancer services has reached £639m; £69m more than was committed in accordance with the NHS Cancer Plan, published in 2000, which promised £570m additional expenditure on 2000/01 figures by 2003/04.

According to the figures, £192m was spent on cancer drugs; £230m was spent on other services, such as specialist staff; £113m was invested in new equipment; and £103m went towards staff training, modernising services and palliative care. Professor Mike Richards, the government's national director for cancer and the organiser of the research, said: 'these figures show that the money being allocated to cancer services is making a real difference, with more drugs, staff and equipment being provided. More money than ever before is now going into tackling the disease and thousands of lives are being saved.'

Richards undertook the exercise to track the additional funding being allocated to cancer services after concerns were raised by cancer charities over use of the funds. In November 2003, Macmillan Cancer Relief claimed in its 'Get It Spent Where It's Meant' report that: 'the government's investment in cancer services is being undermined by serious systemic flaws in how the NHS manages the money released..[there is] a lack of transparency, widespread inconsistencies in how the money is allocated and tracked, poor investment in cancer services that improve the patient's experience and inadequate provision for meaningful patient involvement'.

Responding to the new figures, Peter Cardy, chief executive of Macmillan, said: 'Macmillan will keep up the pressure on the Department of Health because this tracking exercise happened for one reason: charities and MPs asked why cancer money wasn't getting spent where it's meant. Much more still needs to be done to meet the NHS cancer targets and modernise cancer services to improve the quality of the entire patient journey. Cancer is a unique condition which requires special attention and continued investment'.

UK health minister Rosie Winterton gave her backing to Richards, saying: 'the NHS has made significant progress towards the objectives set out in the NHS Cancer Plan to reorganise, standardise and rejuvenate cancer services so that we compare with the best in Europe.

'We have some of the fastest falling death rates from cancer in Europe. The latest figures show that cancer mortality has fallen by over 12% in the last six years, which equates to around 33,000 lives saved over this period.

'There's still more to do, but we are delivering better treatment, more quickly, to more people than ever before.'