Jo Churchill MP has welcomed figures released by Macmillan over the summer, that show one year and five year survival rates for cancer in the West Suffolk CCG (WSCCG) and East Anglia NHS Area Team are higher than the average across the rest of England.
Mrs Churchill said: “In the WSCCG 70% of patients are still alive one year after diagnosis and in the East Anglia NHS area 50% are still alive five years after diagnosis, which is the best result in England. These figures are 2% higher than the average across England, which is definitely encouraging.
However, when you compare these figures with the best in Europe, you see that in Sweden 81% and 65% of patients survive at least one and five years after diagnosis, respectively. These are the figures I want us to be aspiring to and beating.”
The NHS National Cancer Patient Experience Survey also asked patients’ about their experiences of care and treatment. These figures likewise demonstrated a strong performance in the WSCCG.
Mrs Churchill said: “In the WSCCG 90% of patients rated their care excellent or very good, 66% felt the hospital and community staff worked well together and 61% stated that their family were given all the information necessary to help care at home. 99% or patients received their first treatment within 31 days of diagnosis. These figures are all higher than the English average.
However, only 26% were offered a written assessment and care plan. Feeling in control is one of the most important things when undergoing treatment for cancer. I want more patients to know exactly what is being done to help them. There are some really good signs in these numbers, but we must keep improving across the board.
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