Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to Leukaemia Care's Left to #WatchWaitWorry campaign, what assessment she has made of the implications for her policy of that campaign; and whether the Government will take additional steps to support patients who are on watch and wait advice for leukaemia.

We are committed to ensuring that all leukaemia patients have access to holistic needs assessments, personalised care and support planning and personalised care interventions. These ensure care focuses on what matters most to each patient, whilst empowering them to self-manage where appropriate and provide a rapid route back into the healthcare system if they notice any worrying changes or need to seek help. The personalised care programme also includes ensuring patients receive high quality information.

In 2020/2021 Health Education England made 250 training grants available for existing and aspiring clinical nurse specialists (CNSs). The 2021 National Cancer Patient Experience Survey found that of 1,662 respondents with leukaemia, 88.5% reported that they received a named contact to support them through their cancer treatment, with 79.3% reporting that this was a CNS.