Every accident and emergency department in England should have a specialist cancer team, say government advisers.
It comes after a report into the deaths of 500 cancer patients found many hospitals were not equipped to deal with severe treatment complications.
A&E departments also need more expertise to pick up undiagnosed cancers, the expert group said. Government cancer tsar Mike Richards said the plans would improve “safety and quality” of care.
Last year the National Confidential Enquiry into Patient Outcome and Death looked at 557 cancer patients who had died within 30 days of having chemotherapy.
It raised a series of questions about chemotherapy services, including concerns that patients suffering severe side-effects or complications ended up in hospital without the right facilities.
Read more at BBC Health.
Tags: Cancer
