Labour unveil retraining plan for GPs who fail to spot signs of cancer

The party has thrown its weight behind the goals of The Sunday Post’s Fighting Chance campaign calling for more consistent treatment for sufferers across the country and faster diagnosis from GPs.

Labour’s plan matches our call for GPs to be retrained if they continually fail to spot vital cancer symptoms.

The move is part of a cancer action plan which Scottish Labour will pitch at next year’s Holyrood election that includes pledges to bolster early detection and palliative care programmes.

Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt has previously said the UK Government was considering ranking GP surgeries on how quickly they spot cases of cancer.

But doctors’ union the British Medical Association last night said the move was the “wrong approach”.

Health spokeswoman for Scottish Labour Jenny Marra has said action needs to be taken to address doctors who have a poor record in spotting the killer disease and slammed the Scottish Government for delays to a new national cancer strategy.

She said: “The Sunday Post campaign embarrassed the SNP to take action but once again they have let it fall away despite record numbers of Scots getting cancer and surviving cancer.

“It’s now been more than two years since the cancer plan was first promised.

“England under the Tories now has a cancer plan that is better than what we have here in Scotland under the SNP.

“We will have waited eight years to update a plan for a disease that is changing rapidly but I won’t wait eight years – when I meet the civil service in January.

“I will tell them I want to publish a cancer plan within eight days of taking office.”

Earlier this year the Post revealed an already delayed Scottish cancer strategy will now not be in place until the first half of 2016.

The long-awaited plan to improve the diagnosis and treatment of cancer sufferers was already more than six months late and will now be unveiled in the spring.

BMA Scottish GPs committee deputy chairman Andrew Buist said: “I think what Labour is proposing would be the entirely wrong approach.

“I can’t think of one GP who would not review a cancer case to see if it could have been picked up sooner if they miss it. There have been huge changes to the threshold in cancer detection in recent years.

“Before, GPs would refer a patient to a consultant if we believed they had cancer. Now we refer them if we can’t prove their symptoms aren’t cancer. That marks a huge cultural change.

“But some conditions, like cancer, spring up rapidly and that can lead to wrong accusations their GP has missed it. It might have been the case a patient presents with symptoms that turn out to be cancer but at that stage it is close to impossible to detect. It makes it extremely hard for GPs sometimes.”

Health Secretary Shona Robison said: “It is vital that GPs’ skills and knowledge are up to date, which is why they take part in continuous professional development.

“This, along with the mandatory General Medical Council GP appraisal and revalidation system, help individuals identify and respond to any learning needs.

“The Scottish Government is absolutely committed to supporting people with cancer and ensuring they have access to the best possible care.

“We will invest in improving diagnosis and treatment within the framework of our new cancer plan for Scotland that we will publish in 2016.”

Analysis

SCOTLAND boasts some of the best facilities for tackling cancer in Europe and when we get it right – which is most of the time – patients can expect first-class treatment.

But the focus needs to be firmly on where we’re not getting it right.

Figures out last week showed 10 of the country’s 14 health boards failed to meet the 62-day standard for treating patients suspected of having cancer.

The target has not been fully met since 2012 and cancer charities are right to ask why the nationwide cancer strategy has been delayed for so long when there are clearly big issues to resolve.

Charity sources say the Government’s first stab at a refreshed cancer strategy “simply wasn’t up to scratch” with civil servants sent back to the drawing board. But that was nearly a year ago and the recent announcement the strategy will now be revealed in spring will only fuel speculation that, coming just weeks before the 2016 election, it will include a bold new treatment pledge.

Anything which results in cancer patients being seen quicker will be warmly and rightly welcomed.

The question will remain though as to why it has taken so long.