Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent steps his Department has taken to improve the survival rates of people diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.

National Health Service services for pancreatic cancer have been significantly improved in recent years. This includes clearer diagnostic pathways; decision making by specialist multi-disciplinary teams; and the centralisation of pancreas surgery within specialist teams.

Last month the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence published their clinical guideline on ‘Pancreatic cancer: diagnosis and management in adults’. It provides guidance on several different aspects of the diagnosis and management of pancreatic cancer, including ensuring quicker and more accurate diagnosis, referral to specialist pancreatic multidisciplinary teams, pain, nutritional and surgical management and psychological support.

In addition, NHS England has published a service specification for pancreatic cancer which clearly defines what it expects to be in place for providers to offer evidence-based, safe and effective pancreatic cancer services. This service specification has been developed by specialised clinicians, commissioners, expert patients and public health representatives to describe core and developmental service standards.

The full service specification can be found on our website and accessed via the following link:

http://www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/a02-cncr-panc.pdf