A chronic shortage of specialist nurses at one of Britain's leading NHS hospitals is forcing bosses to consider making unprecedented cuts to cancer care.At the Times of London, Health Editor Chris Smyth has more outstanding news (cheers for the link, Maggie) from the continent of free health care:
A leading NHS hospital is delaying chemotherapy for cancer patients and those who are terminally ill face cuts to their treatment because of a chronic shortage of specialist nurses, according to a leaked memo.Meanwhile, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, Jeremy Hunt, has acknowledged that there is a "short-termist" approach to staff planning…
Andrew Weaver, head of chemotherapy at the Churchill Hospital in Oxford, which treats thousands of patients from across the region, said in a memo to staff that treatment was being delayed. He also warned that the number of chemotherapy cycles offered to the terminally ill would have to be cut because of a lack of staff trained to deal with medication. The centre has a 40 per cent shortfall in nurses on the unit that administers chemotherapy.
Related: The Bright Future of European Health Care:
Britons Face Longer Waits Along with Rationing of Treatment
• Almost £1 billion of the NHS budget goes to waste each year,
says Britain's top nurse, because patients fail to turn up for appointments
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