A renewed National Cancer Board must protect those who deliver cancer care
The SHBN welcomes the first meeting of the reformed National Cancer Board and the renewed scrutiny it will bring to the National Cancer Plan. A plan this important needs regular, independent assessment of where delivery is on track and where it is not.
Improving cancer care will take a whole-systems approach. The National Cancer Plan rightly puts patients at its centre, but that focus must be balanced with the needs of the healthcare workers who care for them.
Today, UK healthcare workers are less protected than their European and US counterparts. Many cancer treatments, including chemotherapy drugs, are hazardous medicinal products (HMPs). Long-term, low-level exposure can have serious health effects for oncology nurses and other staff who handle these drugs.
Unlike many other countries, the UK has no national definition of or standard for HMPs, so the protection an oncology nurse receives depends largely on where they work. Nor is this solely an oncology issue. HMPs include cytotoxic agents, antivirals, immunosuppressants, hormones and some antibiotics, and they are increasingly used across acute, community, primary care and homecare settings. No healthcare worker should face unnecessary exposure to hazardous drugs.
This is not only a question of doing right by staff. Exposure risks add to the pressures driving people out of oncology, and that churn reduces the capacity the National Cancer Plan depends on.
We urge the National Cancer Board to make sure its scrutiny covers this side of the story too, including the safety and retention of the oncology and wider healthcare workforce. The SHBN stands ready to work with the Board’s new members on this issue.
In the meantime, our campaign will keep raising awareness of the dangers of occupational exposure to HMPs. We are calling for stronger safety standards, better training and consistent protection across healthcare settings, to keep staff safe and make care safer for patients. Visit our HMP Safety page to find out more and join the campaign.
