Should good standards of cancer care be made law?

Missed diagnosis claims, and claims where patients are misdiagnosed, are unfortunately common. One of the biggest problems with such incidents is where the misdiagnosis or missed diagnosis is for something as serious as cancer, where the window of opportunity for cancer care or treatment to start can be very slim.

Unfortunately, in many cancer misdiagnosis or missed cancer diagnosis cases, it’s too late for the victim by the time the error is recognised.

Because of this, some say that good quality cancer care should be introduced as law in the UK. But, will it help?

There is already an expected standard of care in terms of cancer patients being diagnosed and treated effectively and efficiently. However, some experts like Ian Kunkler, who leads international trials at Edinburgh University, says that timely access to modern treatment should be written into law.

The suggestion comes off the back of the fact that elements of cancer care standards are not being complied with at present. Of course, we know that this is likely down to funding issues, which has the NHS in what many describe as a “crisis”, but the point is that cancer needs to be a priority.

A missed cancer diagnosis case, or a misdiagnosis where cancer is deemed as something else, costs lives.

We, of course, welcome the notion of a “bill of rights” when it comes to standards of cancer care, as we have seen first-hand how devastating the consequences of errors can be.

As touched on above, the issue is two-fold.

If cancer care standards are already not being complied with because of funding issues, how can legislating higher standards of care be complied with unless funding and resources are properly allocated? Either way, it’s clear that there needs to be more funds to address the issue of cancer misdiagnosis / missed diagnosis.