Cancer: Health Services
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps NHS England plans to take to improve (a) awareness and (b) training for (i) GPs and (ii) frontline healthcare professionals to better (A) recognize and (B) refer suspected cases of adrenal cancer.
Answered by Ashley Dalton
General practitioners (GPs) are responsible for ensuring their own clinical knowledge, including on adrenal cancer, remains up-to-date and for identifying learning needs as part of their continuing professional development. This activity should include taking account of new research and developments in guidance, such as that produced by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, to ensure that they can continue to provide high quality care to all patients.
The training curriculum for postgraduate trainee doctors is set by the Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP), and has to meet the standards set by the General Medical Council. The RCGP provides a number of resources on cancer prevention, diagnosis, and care for GPs, relevant for the primary care setting.
NHS England supports initiatives aimed at enhancing early cancer diagnosis and awareness among healthcare professionals. These initiatives include GatewayC, an online education platform providing modules on early cancer diagnosis for primary care professionals, and the Aspirant Cancer Career and Education Development programme, designed to improve cancer-related knowledge and capabilities across the non-medical workforce. These measures aim to equip GPs and frontline professionals with the skills necessary to identify and act on potential cancer symptoms, including those of rare cancers such as adrenal cancer.
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