General Election 2015: Ed Miliband promises cancer tests in GP surgeries in every town if Labour wins power
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Version 0 of 1. Tests for cancer would be carried out in GP surgeries in every town under a £150m-a-year plan to improve treatment if the Labour Party wins power. In an interview with The Independent, Ed Miliband said Labour would guarantee that cancer tests would be undertaken within a week by 2020. He argued that the investment would save money in the long run as well as lives. He contrasted his “one-week guarantee” with the Government’s failure to hit its target that cancer sufferers should start their treatment within two months of urgent referral. Labour claimed the news was smuggled out in NHS England’s business plan for 2015-16, released at 9.24pm on Parliament’s last working day before the election. It suggests the target might not be met until March 2016. According to Labour, on current trends 23,000 people over the next year could wait for more than two months to begin treatment. Labour also claims the number of people waiting over six weeks for cancer tests has risen fourfold since 2010. Mr Miliband said: “This would be a big and really important step forward. There can be nothing more worrying for patients and their families than waiting to hear if you have this terrible disease. Speeding up cancer tests will help reduce the anxiety of waiting for a test result, improve early diagnosis, and ensure those who need it can start treatment sooner. We know that early diagnosis dramatically improves the chances of successful treatment while saving the NHS on the costs of late intervention.” Are you undecided about who to vote for on 7 May? Are you confused about what the parties stand for and what they are offering? Take this interactive quiz to help you decide who to vote for... Click here to launch New testing capacity in GP surgeries and community clinics would include multi-functional X-ray rooms for tests including for chests, which can detect lung cancer, and ultrasound machines for abdominal and pelvic checks, which can detect ovarian cancer. Although the equipment would not be in every GP surgery, at least one in every town would have it, so patient access would be guaranteed. Labour’s pledge covers England but not Scotland or Wales, where health is a devolved power. A Labour government would invest in new radiotherapy machines after replies to freedom of information requests revealed that one in five is more than 10 years old, when they should be replaced. Another idea is for multi-purpose diagnostic clinics in the community, where patients could have a range of different cancer tests in a single session. The Conservatives insist that in 2013-14, almost 460,000 more people were referred by GPs for suspected cancer than in 2009-10. Jeremy Hunt, the Health Secretary said: “Ed Miliband will threaten core cancer services because he has failed to commit the additional £8bn the NHS says it needs. When Labour left office, it left us with the lowest cancer survival rates in Western Europe. We’re treating 700,000 more people a year in this parliament than the last, and now survival rates are at record highs. That’s only possible because we have built a strong economy that has allowed us to invest an additional £750m in cancer services.” The Independent has got together with May2015.com to produce a poll of polls that produces the most up-to-date data in as close to real time as is possible. Click the buttons below to explore how the main parties' fortunes have changed: All data, polls and graphics are courtesy of May2015.com. Click through for daily analysis, in-depth features and all the data you need. (All historical data used is provided by UK Polling Report) |