Staff numbers may need to double across key workforce groups by 2027 in order to meet the needs of the growing number of cancer patients in England, according to a new report from Cancer Research UK.
The report - Securing a Cancer Workforce for the Best Outcomes – used clinician input to develop a model of how much time key staff might spend on the diagnosis and treatment of cancer and how much the current workforce would need to grow to keep pace with the projected growth in the number of cancers diagnosed, which is set to rise to around 389,000 by 2027.
Seven key staff groups were included - radiologists, gastroenterologists, therapeutic radiographers, clinical and medical oncologists, diagnostic radiographers, histopathologists, and GPs.
The estimates suggest the number of clinical oncologists will need to increase almost three-fold to 3002 by 2027 in order to meet demand. Approximately 500 additional gastroenterologists will be required. Approximately 2000 extra radiologists will be needed, almost double the 2805 radiologists in the country in 2016.
While there was not enough clinical data to generate estimates for diagnostic radiographers, histopathologists, and GPs, Cancer Research UK says these are key staff groups in the diagnosis of cancer, so it is essential that there is growth in these areas if order to achieve the ambition of 75% of cancers being diagnosed at stage 1 or 2.
“Given the scale of this estimated increase, it is vital that NHS England and Health Education England conduct their own detailed modelling exercises to better understand what increases we need over the course of the new long-term plan, and that this is tested with the wider cancer community,” the charity says.
