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<p>It is important that people with cancer have the best possible experience throughout
their cancer pathway and are treated with dignity and respect.</p><p> </p><p>The independent
Cancer Taskforce published its report <em>Achieving World-Class Cancer Outcomes –
A Strategy for England 2015-2020</em> in July 2015, and identified a key priority
of establishing patient experience as being on a par with clinical effectiveness and
safety. In May 2016 the National Cancer Transformation Board published <em>Achieving
World-Class Cancer Outcomes:</em> <em>Taking the Strategy Forward</em> outlining the
detailed steps being taken to make this a reality.</p><p> </p><p>In September 2015,
the Government announced that by 2020, the 280,000 people diagnosed with cancer every
year will benefit from a tailored recovery package. The packages will be individually
designed to help each person, including those with blood cancer, live well beyond
cancer. In April 2016 NHS England published guidance for commissioners on commissioning
and implementing the recovery package effectively.</p><p> </p><p>In order to continue
to support general practitioners (GPs) to identify patients whose symptoms may indicate
cancer and urgently refer them as appropriate, the National Institute for Health and
Care Excellence (NICE) published an updated suspected cancer referral guideline in
June 2015. The guideline includes new recommendations for haematological cancers.
NICE noted that more lives could be saved each year in England if GPs followed the
new guideline, which encourages GPs to think of cancer sooner and lower the referral
threshold. Following publication of the updated guideline, the Royal College of GPs
(RCGP) has worked in collaboration with Cancer Research UK (CRUK) on a programme of
regional update events for GPs to promote the new guideline. RCGP and CRUK have also
worked to develop three summary referral guidelines for GPs to enable them to adopt
the guideline. These are available at:</p><p> </p><p><a href="http://www.cancerresearchuk.org/health-professional/learning-and-development-tools/nice-cancer-referral-guidelines"
target="_blank">www.cancerresearchuk.org/health-professional/learning-and-development-tools/nice-cancer-referral-guidelines</a></p>
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