The All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Stem Cell Transplantation, of which Anthony Nolan is the secretariat, has today published the findings of a parliamentary inquiry seeking to understand how a patient’s background, including factors such as their geographical location, socioeconomic background and ethnicity, can lead to barriers when accessing treatment and care.
Written evidence was submitted between August 2020 and January 2021 and an online parliamentary oral evidence session took place in February 2021 . The APPG received accounts from more than 40 patients, family members, clinicians, charities, and researchers for the report, which proposes 12 recommendations, categorised into five areas for improvement.
• Personalising care
• Supporting patients emotionally and financially
• Better demographic data capture
• Improving outcomes through research
• Investment in the stem cell register
The report explores recommendations to address the challenges, calling on Government and the NHS, to work with patients, charities and other stakeholders to make changes such as investing in research and making sure care is culturally appropriate.
Henny Braund, Chief Executive of Anthony Nolan says: ‘The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed and amplified existing health inequalities making understanding the barriers patients face is more pertinent than ever. It’s vital that this inquiry helps inform the important work happening across the NHS to address unwarranted variation in healthcare and builds momentum in this area.
‘At Anthony Nolan we’re keen to work with patients, the APPG and colleagues at the Department of Health and Social Care and in the NHS to address the inequalities that no stem cell transplant patient, or other cancer patient, should face as they receive treatment.’
Mark Tami, Chair of the APPG on Stem Cell Transplantation and MP for Alyn and Deeside says: ‘We saw many of the same barriers and inequalities being highlighted in the written and oral evidence of this Inquiry and I am grateful to the patients, family members, clinicians, charities, and researchers who took time to share their personal and professional experiences of the barriers patients can face.
‘I hope the findings from this report will act as a springboard to encourage more research and a renewed focus on understanding and overcoming barriers to accessing treatment and care, and I would welcome conversations with decision-makers in all four nations on their approach to tackling them.’
Find out more about the APPG on Stem Cell Transplantation and Advanced Cellular Therapies and their report ‘No Patient Left Behind’.