Read in full: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c86pl3962j7o
'Senior doctors responsible for monitoring cancer care in England and Wales are concerned failings in NHS services are contributing to up to half of patients are not getting the right treatment for some cancers...'
'The National Cancer Audit Collaborating Centre (NatCan), external highlighted particular problems with prostate, kidney and colon cancers...
'30% of patients with high-risk prostate cancer do not get curative treatment with either surgery or radiotherapy...
'34% of stage three colon cancer cases do not get chemotherapy within three months of surgery...
'50% of stage four renal cell carcinoma patients, a type of kidney cancer that has spread to other parts of the body, do not get drug treatment...'
COMMENT (NPW): These findings highlight the fact that a majority of patients do not receive timely evidence-based care, even in high-income countries. The situation in LMICs is undoubtedly much worse, with more patients presenting with advanced disease and fewer patients receiving appropriate care. This represents a catastrophic barrier in 'Applying evidence', the sixth and final pillar of the global evidence ecosystem https://www.hifa.org/about-hifa/hifa-vision-mission-strategy
HIFA profile: Neil Pakenham-Walsh is coordinator of HIFA (Healthcare Information For All), a global health community that brings all stakeholders together around the shared goal of universal access to reliable healthcare information. HIFA has 20,000 members in 180 countries, interacting in four languages and representing all parts of the global evidence ecosystem. HIFA is administered by Global Healthcare Information Network, a UK-based nonprofit in official relations with the World Health Organization. Email: neil@hifa.org