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UK LUNG CANCER COALITION
The UK Lung Cancer Coalition (UKLCC) has launched a Green Paper setting out how lung cancer multi-disciplinary teams could be strengthened to improve the quality of care for patients – in essence, to become a ‘dream MDT’.
The UKLCC is actively inviting the views of anyone with an interest in lung cancer, including clinicians, patients, carers, policymakers and providers to comment on the Green Paper.
The Green Paper was prepared by the UKLCC’s Clinical Advisory Group, representatives of each specialist field involved in lung cancer care. We believe that clinical guidelines are an important part of the drive to improve standards of care. However, by the nature of their production, they are often out of date, can only make recommendations based on very firm published evidence and tend to concentrate on the technical elements of treatment.
In preparing this Green Paper, therefore, we have gone beyond standard guidelines to describe an ‘aspirational’ approach to the treatment and management of lung cancer - a ‘gold standard’ of practice based on, but not constrained by, the highest level of evidence.
The UKLCC is keen to receive the views of all lung cancer stakeholders on the Green Paper. Comments and recommendations are invited to be submitted by 24 February 2012 on the following email address: tricia@redhotirons.com (UKLCC Secretariat). Suggestions will be considered by the Clinical Advisory Group, and an updated White Paper released in 2012.
The Green Paper can be downloaded here |
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UKLCC launches national report
into lung cancer services
The NHS is still failing lung cancer patients,
according to the results of the first national review
of lung cancer services, published by the UK Lung
Cancer Coalition at the beginning of November
2009. Despite headway in UK lung cancer
prevention, disease awareness and
screening, the UKLCC believes that key areas such
as diagnosis, treatment rates and access to
specialists are still woefully inadequate....
View the full press release
View the full report
View media coverage |
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National Lung Cancer Audit
Shocking differences in lung cancer
care
across
England, Scotland and
Wales were
revealed in the
National
Lung Cancer
Audit (NLCA)
published
on 30th
April
2009. The
report showed
only half
(51%)
of patients
receive
any kind
of
active
treatment, less
than 10%
have
surgery, and many
do
not
currently
have access
to a
specialist
nurse.
As well as executing a national
media
campaign to coincide
with
publication,
the UKLCC has
written
to poorly-
performing hospital trusts urging
them to review their lung cancer
services. It is also working with parliamentarians, the health minister and national cancer director to raise awareness of the importance of data collection to improve standards of care and help save lives. For more information on the NLCA, click here and to access the report visit: http://www.ic.nhs.uk/services/national-clinical-audit-support-programme-ncasp/audit-reports/lung-cancer |
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What is the UK Lung Cancer Coalition?
The United Kingdom Lung Cancer Coalition (UKLCC) is a partnership of charities, clinicians, senior NHS professionals and healthcare companies with a commitment to double lung cancer survival. It is the nation’s only multi-interest group in lung cancer. The UKLCC is primarily a campaigning organisation. Information and support for people affected by lung cancer can be found separately by contacting the following charity members of the UKLCC, whose details are available on this website: British Lung Foundation, Cancer Black Care, Cancer Research UK, Macmillan Cancer Support, Marie Curie Cancer Care, Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation and Tenovus.
Our challenge
Lung cancer is the country’s biggest cancer killer. In the UK, someone dies from lung cancer every 15 minutes. Despite some recent improvements in service provision, there are still wide variations in standards across the country, including diagnosis, treatment and care for lung cancer patients.
The UKLCC believes that more can be done to reduce the terrible death toll caused by lung cancer. Our vision is to meet an ambitious “survival challenge”:
To double one year lung cancer survival by 2015 and five year survival by 2020*
* based on survival rate figures from 1996-99.
Our plan of action
In 2007, the UKLCC developed a 12 point plan – calls for action which we believe if prioritised and acted upon would make a real difference for lung cancer patients.
Bringing standards of care across the NHS up to those in the best centres would, we believe, save many thousands of lives. We are keen to work with the NHS and Government, patients and carers, industry and voluntary sector to make sure this happens.
Download the Lung Cancer Plan
The UKLCC 2008 Annual Review
2008 was a full and busy year for the UKLCC. We sponsored a session called ‘Is your MDT fit for purpose?’ at the International Lung Cancer Conference and organized a highly attended and award-winning Nurse Fly-in event at Westminster to raise awareness of the shortages and variations in specialist lung cancer nurses. Consequently, an Early Day Motion was signed by 80 MPs. Again, we wrote to hospitals in 2008 to urge them to submit data into the National Lung Cancer Audit, which received very positive responses; and we held a meeting with the Royal College of Surgeons and Society for Cardiothoracic Surgery, culminating in an agreement to draft a joint position statement on best practice.
Download the report on The UKLCC 2008 Annual Review
Helping to improve lung cancer commissioning
The UK Lung Cancer Coalition has launched a toolkit to help lung cancer clinicians make a constructive and effective contribution to the commissioning process for lung cancer services.
We believe in putting clinicians at the heart of lung cancer commissioning. Getting the commissioning of lung cancer services right will help to reduce the postcode lottery in access to diagnostic and pathology services, treatment and specialist nursing. With experts clinicians more involved with cancer commissioning, we can make a real difference towards achieving our goal of doubling lung cancer survival.
- Statistics about lung cancer services and outcomes in your area
- Contacts for your local lung cancer commissioners
- Suggestions for how to approach your commissioners and advice on making your case
If you have any queries or would like to discuss this with Health Mandate who produced the toolkit, you can contact Hannah Cornick on 0203 128114.
Developing a quality standard for lung cancer care
The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) is in the process of developing a number of ‘quality standards’ – concise statements of what defines high-quality, cost-effective patient care in the treatment and prevention of various diseases and conditions. Development of the lung cancer quality standard is underway, and the UKLCC believes it is crucial to get this right in order to ensure that lung cancer patients across the country receive the highest standard of treatment and care.
The UKLCC has therefore published its own quality standard – a set of 20 quality statements setting out what UKLCC professionals believe constitutes best practice. The standard covers the whole patient pathway, from awareness raising and support at diagnosis stage, right through to the quality and accessibility of clinical treatment.
Click here to download a copy of the UKLCC’s lung cancer quality standard
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| Helping to improve lung cancer commissioning |
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| How pharmacies can support Lung Cancer Awareness Month |
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| National Lung Cancer Audit 2009 now published |
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The latest National Lung Cancer Audit published on 2nd December 2009 shows that only half (51%) of lung cancer patients are currently seen by a lung cancer specialist nurse… |
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... Web Link |
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... Press release |
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| National award for UKLCC and NFLCN |
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The UKLCC and the National Lung Cancer Forum for Nurses (NLCFN) are celebrating following the 2009 Communiqué awards... |
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... more |
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National Lung
Cancer Audit - Media Coverage
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Lung Cancer
Awareness Month |
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Every November, UKLCC members support Lung Cancer Awareness Month, raising awareness of the signs and symptoms of lung cancer and encouraging people not to delay visiting their GP. |
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... more |
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| Is Your MDT Fit for Purpose? |
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UKLCC session at The International Lung Cancer Conference
On Thursday 10th July 2008 the UKLCC sponsored a session at the International Lung Cancer Conference. This meeting aimed to review the current status and impact of MDT working in lung cancer care in the UK. |
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Download the report on the UKLCC session |
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Lung Cancer - the facts |
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Lung cancer can be cured |
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One in eight people with lung cancer have never smoked |
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More women die from lung cancer than breast cancer |
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Half of all people in the UK know someone that has died or been affected by lung cancer |
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Dr Mick Peake
UKLCC Clinical
Reference Group |
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We know if we apply the best standards of care already being demonstrated in some parts of the country, and if we diagnose people early, we can double lung cancer survival rates in the UK. |
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Donald Sutherland
Patient |
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I was diagnosed with lung cancer eight years ago and I am still alive and well. You can survive lung cancer. There is hope. |
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