Agenda item - Brighton and Hove Cancer Strategy 2017-2020

Report of the Executive Director for Health & Adult Social Care (copy attached).

1)           That the Board is asked to approve the Cancer Strategy.

2)           That the Board agrees to receive an update including an estimate of the strategy’s predicted impact on clinical and financial outcomes, including a sensitivity analysis, at the March 2018 meeting.

29.1    The Public Health Principle from Brighton & Hove City Council, the Clinical Commissioning Manager for Cancer from the Brighton & Hove CCG and The Brighton & Hove CCG’s Clinical Lead for Cancer introduced the report. The City’s strategy was a synthesis of a number of national strategies. It sought to acknowledge that there is room for improvement and to make a real impact on health outcomes and value for money. Cancer accounted for 25% of deaths in the city and 40% of these diagnoses could have been prevented by a change in lifestyle. There was already a range of stop smoking services and the re-procurement of a weight management service all of which would help target inequalities in health outcome. Cancer rates would increase with an ageing population but this could be managed with early diagnosis and treatment.

29.2    Councillor Barnett was concerned that there was potential gender inequality around awareness of symptoms of cancer with women being better informed than men. She asked how this would be tackled in the new strategy.

29.3    The presenters responded that there was a range of national information campaigns to increase the awareness of symptoms including posters and adverts. They also highlighted the work of the CCG in the city including placing a large inflatable colon outside of Churchill Square and training peer workers. The Executive Director for Health and Adult Social Care also responded that following success in other local authorities the Council was hoping to work with Albion in the Community to improve cancer awareness through Brighton and Hove Albion Football Club.  

29.4    In response to Councillor Penn the presenters clarified that the CCG and Council were looking at a holistic approach to care which would include possible cancer screening at different types of appointments, that there was a move to using electronic methods of communication with patients to prevent the contact being lost due to the city’s high churn rate. They also responded that the large LGBTQ population in the city meant that the CCG and the council was in a privileged position to be able to work with that community to make sure the right information about cancer risks communicated. The Acting Director of Public Health also responded that the HPV vaccine take up rate was currently 86% but the full effects of the programme would not be seen for around 60 years.

29.5    Councillor Janio and Councillor Penn both asked that future reports include comparators more in line with Brighton & Hove’s demographic with less emphasis placed on neighbouring areas which were relatively dissimilar.

29.6    Councillor Page welcomed the strategy and urged the Board to also consider how to impact upon the root causes of the unhealthy lifestyles and health inequalities.

29.7RESOLVED:

(1)    That the Board is asked to approve the Cancer Strategy.

(2)    That the Board agrees to receive an update including an estimate of the strategy’s predicted impact on clinical and financial outcomes, including a sensitivity analysis, at the March 2018 meeting.