Breast cancer: specialist nurse recruitment could help cut costs
Posted 23 January 2024 - 09:00
The yearly cost of breast cancer to the UK economy could rise to £3.6 billion by 2034, but investing in cancer nurse specialists could save the NHS £118 million
Boosting the number of cancer nurse specialists (CNSs) in the UK would not only improve patient outcomes but save the NHS millions over the next ten years.
Charity warns of stark rise in cost of breast cancer
A new report from charity Breast Cancer Now and think tank Demos predicts the yearly cost of breast cancer to the UK economy could rise by almost 40% to £3.6 billion by 2034.
It warned that the stark rises could be expected if no action is taken to improve screening rates and cut advanced cancer cases.
The report highlights three areas of change that would have the greatest impact on patient care and NHS costs: increased screening uptake, more CNSs, and supporting people to return to work.
Based on every breast cancer patient having access to a CNS, the study suggests that, despite initial costs, savings of over £118 million could be made in the NHS in 2034.
‘The investment costs would cover training fees and increased salaries for the specialist grade of nurses. But the savings would be greater,’ the report states.
‘These would result from lowered treatment costs related to, for example, a reduced requirement for follow-up appointments. This may be through a better understanding of the condition and treatment, but it could also be related to the psychological support a CNS provides.
Breast Cancer Now chief executive Baroness Delyth Morgan said: ‘These revealing, first-of-their-kind estimates of the economic and well-being costs of breast cancer in the UK show that breast cancer is far from being a “done deal”, and the consequences of us failing to act now are dire.’
The economic cost of breast cancer
- Economic modelling in the Breast Cancer Now/Demos report shows that the total cost of breast cancer to the UK economy is estimated to be £2.6-2.8 billion in 2024
- In 2019, there were 56,343 new cases of breast cancer diagnosed, according to the report, but by 2034 this is expected to have increased by 14.8% to 64,708 cases
Rise in cancer nurse numbers despite 11.3% leaver rate
The NHS Long Term Workforce Plan for England sets out ambitions for everyone diagnosed with cancer to have access to a clinical nurse specialist or other support worker.
While data on vacancy rates for CNSs is not collected, latest NHS England data show the overall leaver rate of cancer nurses and health visitors was 11.3% from September 2021 to September 2022.
However, the overall numbers of cancer nurses and health visitors did grow in the same time period, from 12,166 to 12,716.
A spokesperson for NHS England said: ‘We are working hard to improve diagnosis and survival rates, with 1,100 more early-stage breast cancer patients diagnosed each year than before the pandemic, not only because it is the right thing for patients’ health but, as this analysis makes clear, there are also wider benefits in reducing the human and financial costs.’
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