The community pharmacy cancer diagnosis pilot forms part of a drive to catch tumours early when they are easier to treat, NHSE&I added in a statement today (June 15).
Under the pilot – which NHSE&I said will be funded – patients who present with symptoms including a persistent cough, difficulty swallowing or blood in their urine can be directly referred to specialists by community pharmacy teams for scans and checks, without having to see a GP.
Read more: Pharmacy bodies supportive of award-winning cancer training programme for pharmacists
Speaking at the NHS ConfedExpo conference in Liverpool today, chief executive Amanda Pritchard said the NHS “will not rest in our efforts to catch cancer early and save more lives”.
During the pandemic, NHS teams “developed new and innovative ways to ensure patients could get cancer checks and treatment as normal”, for example, by offering genetic testing and high street checks, she added.
Building on this innovation, “we want to make it as easy as possible for those most at risk to get vital, lifesaving tests”, Ms Pritchard said.
Between April 2021 and March 2022, over 2.6 million people in England were referred for an NHS cancer check, with more than 300,000 beginning treatment.
Pilot to run across the country
The community pharmacy pilot will be carried out in selected areas across the country, NHSE&I said.
C+D asked NHSE&I for details about when the pilot is due to commence and which areas will trial the service, but a spokesperson was unable to share these details at this time.
C+D understands that community pharmacies involved with the pilot will run the service with volunteers in Cancer Alliances, to collect evidence to determine if the service is and effective way to directly support cancers being identified at an earlier stage.
The five-year community pharmacy contract, published in 2019, laid out plans to “explore activity to complement the content of forthcoming primary care network service specifications; for example, on early cancer diagnosis”, in 2021/22.
Read more: The award-winning pharmacist who developed a new programme for spotting cancer symptoms
Ian Strachan, pharmacist and owner of Strachans Chemists in the north west of England, revealed on Twitter today that he joined a meeting with NHSE&I to share his ideas for the pilot on behalf of the Association of Independent Multiple pharmacies (AIMp).
In a statement to C+D, he stressed that this service “must be appropriately funded”.
Pharmacies see more than 50 million patients each year and a cancer detection service would not only reduce diagnosis time, but also “reduce the pressures and demands on primary care”, he added.
Echoing his comments, AIMp said: “It is essential that the service must be adequately resourced and funded. The stakes are far too high for this to fail.”
“Our ability to reduce time to diagnosis while alleviating the pressures on GP practice are the most compelling credentials for local pharmacies' engagement,” the organisation added.
