Hunt proposes ‘name and shame’ on cancer diagnosis
The Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt wants to publish details of GPs that fail to properly identify early cancer symptoms, but Labour slams it as ‘a desperate idea’.
The NHS will name and shame GPs who continually fail to spot the early signs of cancer, under new plans being drawn up by Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt.
Surgeries spotting early cancer signs will be marked green on an online scorecard but those who repeatedly miss the signs will be marked red, according to the Mail on Sunday.
Mr Hunt said the NHS needs to become “much better” at diagnosing cancer.
“Cancer diagnosis levels around the country vary significantly and we must do much more to improve both the level of diagnosis and to bring those GP practices with poor referral rates up to the standards of the best,” he told the paper.
‘Desperate idea’
The proposals follow a survey for the NHS last year which showed that more than a quarter of people later diagnosed with cancer had been to their local GP surgery at least three times before being referred to a specialist.
But shadow health minister Jamie Reed said the move was “a desperate idea from a government that won’t take responsibility for the problems it has created in the NHS”.
“David Cameron wasted billions on a re-organisation nobody wanted and left cancer patients waiting longer for tests and treatment,” he added.
How easy is it to spot cancer early?
No doctor would argue they shouldn't be more vigilant for common types of cancer. However some cancers are much harder to spot than others.
Read more from Tom Clarke on his blog
“This government has thrown away progress made on cancer care. It is proof of why the Tories can’t be trusted with the NHS.”
The Royal College of GPs said the plans would produce a “crude” system that could lead to doctors sending people to specialists indiscriminately, resulting in high numbers of healthy people going to hospitals.
NHS reforms
The government is also planning other health reforms, including restricting access to NHS numbers by migrants and making it easier for dangerous doctors to be struck off, said the Mail on Sunday.
Accident & Emergency centres in towns will be kept open where possible and NHS whistleblowers will be able to make complaints without fear of losing their jobs, according to the paper.
Senior Conservatives have warned the NHS faces collapse and needs more funding to keep working.
Over the last four years the health service budget has been ringfenced from cuts while funding has risen at the same rate as inflation, but growing demand has largely been paid for by efficiency savings.
The NHS needs to receive a real-terms increase in funding over the next five years to keep it working, according to Stephen Dorrell, a former Conservative health secretary, Paul Burstow, a former coalition health minister, and Sarah Wollaston, a conservative MP.