Our policy on radiotherapy

Four in ten people who beat cancer have received radiotherapy as part of their treatment.

It is generally agreed that around 50 per cent of cancer patients should receive radiotherapy as part of their treatment. However across the UK this sits at just under 40 per cent.

We believe that the Government needs to improve radiotherapy services by:

Ensuring that local providers are able to plan for the future;
Providing sufficient capacity in terms of workforce and equipment meet demand;
Encouraging the uptake of new technologies in radiotherapy.

Radiotherapy is a complex process, involving a number of appointments and considerable multi-disciplinary treatment planning. The time taken for a patient to progress from a decision to treat to their first radiotherapy appointment depends on factors including adequate capacity, and the availability of all relevant staff, both within the radiotherapy service and in other services aligned to radiotherapy.

The state of radiotherapy services across the UK

In response to concerns about the current state of radiotherapy services across the UK, Cancer Research UK commissioned a report to compare how well we are meeting targets for radiotherapy across the UK. For the first time, this report brings together data from across the four nations of the UK, sets out the current challenges and makes recommendations for change.

Regional reviews

The Departments of Health in all four nations of the UK have also over the past few years asked for national radiotherapy reviews to be carried out. In England, a report by the National Radiotherapy Advisory Group (NRAG), ‘Radiotherapy: delivering a world class service for England', made recommendations for improvement in radiotherapy services in England. These recommendations were incorporated into the 2007 Cancer Reform Strategy.

In Scotland ‘Radiotherapy Activity Planning for Scotland 2011-2015’ was published in January 2006. This report made several recommendations for increasing capacity across Scotland, including the introduction of a cancer-specific workforce strategy and the establishment of a Radiotherapy Advisory Group reporting to the Scotland Cancer Group.

In May 2006, the Welsh Cancer Services Co-ordinating Group published ‘Radiotherapy Equipment Needs and Workforce Implications 2006-2016’. This report showed that most patients in Wales are not receiving their radiotherapy in line with the Welsh National Cancer Standards, and are waiting longer than other patients in the UK, due to shortages in manpower and capacity.