NHS to offer Tagrisso for lung cancer patients
NHS England announced that it would roll out Tagrisso (osimertinib) for lung cancer patients in England.
NHS mentioned that the drug would reduce the risk of cancer returning by 90% for two years compared to 40% with standard of care.
Patients with a rare form of early-stage non-small cell lung cancer will be offered the drug. The drug helps to reduce the growth of cancer and increases the chances of survival.
Nearly 100 patients in England will get benefited from the treatment with Tagrisso (osimertinib).
NICE, NHS, and AstraZeneca are working together to provide early access to the drug on a budget-neutral basis.
Tagrisso is the first drug available as a part of the Orbis program, a collaboration between the U.K., U.S., Australia, and others, to improve the approval process for potentially life-saving cancer treatments.
Recently, NHS England has invested £160 million in ‘COVID-friendly’ cancer drugs.
NHS England announced new Primary Care Network (PCN), targeting to provide improved care
GP practices across England signed up the new Primary Care Network (PCN) for next year. As per the contract, the GP practices will receive half a billion pounds for recruiting more personnel to deliver better healthcare.
NHS England announced that it is committed to invest £1.4 billion by 23-24 and enrol 26,000 more workforces.
As per the agreement, GPs and NHS will deliver better services. They include:
As per the contract, additional support will be provided for care home residents. Clinicians carry weekly check-ins, and clinical leads will be assigned to specific areas. During the COVID19 pandemic, NHS stated that stated 100% of care homes has been identified
Regular structured medication will be provided by employing more clinical pharmacists
NHS is also planning to increase cancer screening and enable it to diagnose the disease in the early stages. NHS expects that this approach will allow saving more lives
Further NHS will reimburse 100% of staff salaries of clinical pharmacists, physiotherapists, physician associates, dieticians, and health and well-being coaches, as per the Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme.
7,000 GP practices across England came together under the Primary Care Network to form 1,250 PCNs.
Earlier patients need to visit GP and then wait to get the reference to visit the specialist; however, with the PCNs patients get direct access to specialists, it also reduces the workload on GPs.