PM to meet nurses, set out new plan to fight prostate cancer

Prime minister Theresa May will meet nurses today to discuss long-term plans for the NHS.

Ms May said she will discuss the challenges facing nursing and medical staff in a visit to a hospital in Cambridgeshire.

She will also use the visit to set out plans to help ensure that prostate cancer patients are treated earlier and faster.

Ms May has pledged £75 million towards clinical trials for the disease, which will focus on improving early diagnosis and survival rates as well as exploring options for different treatments.

Higher risk

It is hoped that 40,000 men will take part in new research projects.

Officials said the new studies will target men who are at higher risk of the disease including those over 50, black men and those with a family history of the disease.

Her visit comes after the government said it would unveil a long-term plan for the health service in England later this year, which is the 70th anniversary of the NHS.

Ms May said: ‘Now in its 70th year, our NHS has a bright future. Since last November we have committed £10 billion in new funding, including a new pay deal for one million NHS workers.

Sustainable funding

‘As part of our balanced approach to managing the economy we have increased spending on the health service every year since 2010.

‘But I’m clear that the way to secure the NHS’s future is having a long-term plan, with sustainable multi-year funding.

‘To inform this, I'll be meeting doctors, nurses and other NHS staff today to understand the challenges they face and discuss how we can effectively meet the demands of the future.’

Commenting on the prostate cancer announcement, health and social care secretary Jeremy Hunt said: ‘The NHS is a world leader in fighting cancer, and survival rates are at record highs. But there is still more to do. This research will ensure that many more lives are saved.’

Welcome commitment

Prostate Cancer UK director of research Iain Frame said: ‘Today’s announcement shows a very welcome and positive commitment from the government to play a key role in getting men the early and accurate diagnosis and treatments for prostate cancer they deserve.

‘It at last shows recognition of what a huge issue prostate cancer is and the focus needed to stop it being a killer.’

In the UK, about one in eight men will get prostate cancer at some point in their lives.

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