Mental health support for cancer patients falls far short of the standard the Government expects, it has been revealed today. In a letter from the health minister Ashley Dalton, who herself has incurable breast cancer, she commends the Daily Express’s Cancer Care campaign. The campaign is striving to ensure all cancer sufferers have support to help them through their mental health issues both during and after treatment.
And she outlines what these patients should expect to receive. She said: “All cancer patients should be offered a holistic needs assessment and personalised care and support planning, ensuring care is focused on what matters most to each person.”
The minister added: “This is being delivered in line with the NHS Comprehensive Model for Personalised Care, empowering people to manage their care and the impact of their cancer and maximise the potential of digital and community-based support.
“Furthermore, health and wellbeing information and support is provided from diagnosis onwards and includes access to NHS Talking Therapies services for anxiety and depression.
“This is alongside wider work to improve psychosocial support for people affected by cancer, such as through local partnerships with cancer support charities.”
But sadly, this is far from what happens in most parts of the UK.
The Cancer Care campaign has been running since January and during that time we have only found two patients who have had a holistic needs assessment.
And both said it did not really go into depth about their needs and their concerns as cancer patients.
It is vital that all cancer patients receive such an assessment shortly after they are diagnosed and, crucially, that it is fit for purpose, so they have time and space to talk about any concerns they have.
The assessment must also be seen as the starting point for a patient to receive help with issues, whether that be counselling, support groups, treatment advice, or information about managing financial worries.
The other key call in our campaign is for cancer patients to be asked about their mental health at every consultation they have with their medical teams.
Mental health issues are one of the biggest side effects of cancer, but they are rarely talked about in hospitals, with doctors focusing on “easier” problems that can be treated with tablets, like diarrhoea or rashes.
This must change to ensure that the cancer treatment people receive is truly fit for the 21st century.
The health minister for public health and prevention is responsible for the Government’s national cancer plan for England, which will be published in the new year.
It is essential that mental health is a key part of this, to improve the experience of people diagnosed with cancer.
This story originally appeared on Express.co.uk
