Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans he has to increase capacity in radiotherapy services to help reduce the number of cancer patients awaiting treatment as a result of backlogs accrued during the covid-19 outbreak.
During the COVID-19 pandemic radiotherapy service provision has continued.
Recovery is now underway across the National Health Service – the focus for radiotherapy will be on embedding the use of hypo-fractionated (fewer fraction) treatments.
As part of the wider NHS recovery programme, local systems will need to determine how best to restore services and then reduce waiting lists. This will, in some areas, include the use of the independent sector.