In the following piece for IFA Magazine’s New Insurance and Protection, Mark Stephenson, CEO at Reframe Cancer, explores the latest approaches and insights in cancer care, highlighting how innovation and patient-centred strategies are reshaping outcomes and experiences for those affected.
The National Cancer Plan was finally delivered last week, with the NHS promising that three in four people diagnosed with cancer from 2035 onwards are cancer-free or living well after five years, and that 320,000 more lives will be saved over the lifetime of the plan.
At present, as the plan outlines, the UK currently falls behind most of Europe when it comes to cancer mortality rates. Behind the headlines and bold numbers, however, our concern is that there are still some key areas that are lacking detail and overall it could take too long to implement to see the urgent results it needs to.
Delivering this plan will require coordinated action across the entire healthcare system, including the NHS, private providers, employers, insurers and charities, to ensure people receive the right support from early diagnosis through to treatment and recovery. The NHS will need to work alongside trusted external partners who are well-regulated, clinically excellent and technologically advanced; otherwise, the aspirational targets will remain just that.
Rising awareness of weaknesses in screening, navigation and prehabilitation is already driving uptake amongst employers and insurers through digital solutions that deliver real impact. These tools have the potential to reduce absence, improve engagement and create both economic and social value. As the evidence continues to build, adoption is likely to accelerate, helping to relieve pressure on the NHS while improving outcomes for patients.
Cancer nurse specialists
Cancer nurse specialists will be central to delivering the plan. High-quality person-centred care is essential for patients who are on their cancer pathway. The plan put forward a commitment to recruit more nurses and use AI to help free up time spent on admin duties, so there can be a bigger focus on caring duties. However, there aren’t currently enough cancer nurse specialists, so this will require a huge investment to help meet the increased targets. The upcoming 10-Year Workforce Plan that will address these issues must detail the funding planned for nurses; otherwise, the targets committed to will not be workable. As it stands, meeting all three cancer waiting time standards by March 2029 will face extreme challenges without heavy investment in cancer nurse specialists. The targets have the potential to enable hundreds of thousands more patients to access timely treatment. Nevertheless, achieving fast, guaranteed improvements in waiting times will remain very difficult, with direct consequences for patients.
Prehabilitation
For the first time, every cancer patient will be given individual support, designed just for them, through a Personalised Cancer Plan. This will look beyond treatment and diagnosis to cover the full impact of cancer on their life – from anxiety and fatigue to diet and returning to work. This is incredibly important, cancer can have a huge impact on every aspect of a patient’s life, before and after treatment has finished.
We are hopeful that the Personalised Care Plan will start with prehab, as preparing patients mentally and physically for treatment is vital in ensuring they will have greater success responding to it. While excellent prehabilitation services exist in some parts of the country, access remains inequitable. The plan acknowledges that patients prefer home-based prehabilitation, yet currently, more than half of the NHS programmes require hospital attendance. There is a commitment to digital-first delivery directly addresses this gap, making prehabilitation accessible and designed to fit around patients’ lives. This won’t be available nationally for several years, however, so insurers and employers will need to invest in the right services to make sure people have access to the best support before they begin cancer treatment.
Cancer carers
The plan does not really give any details on how cancer carers will be helped and supported. This feels like an overlooked, missed opportunity. There are currently over 1.1 million working adults in the UK who are also cancer carers, helping provide daily support to a loved one diagnosed with cancer. Over the course of a month, the average time carers take off work to undertake caring responsibilities is a total of 6.5 days. This is estimated to be costing employers £8.5 billion a year in missed hours. Outlining in the plan how they can be supported would recognise the major investment they make as part of the cancer care journey, but there is little detail on it.
Overall, some key questions remain unanswered, including how commitments will be implemented, the investment in the workforce, particularly cancer care nurses, and whether the right funding will be in place to support ambitious promises. Translating the plan into delivery will now be a crucial task for the NHS and government.
Reframe Cancer provide CQC regulated cancer navigation and support for employers and insurers.
