Jim Dickson backs initiative to tackle the disease in England's
most affected Borough
Jim Dickson, Cabinet
Member for Health and Wellbeing at Lambeth Council, is standing up for men with
prostate cancer by backing a new initiative led by Prostate Cancer
UK. Lambeth is the area of England where a man is most likely to
develop the disease and Councillor Dickson has vowed to
champion a new Quality Checklist of 15 national standards to
help these men receive the best supportive care possible.
Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in men and set to be
the most common cancer overall by 2030. Prostate Cancer UK has
produced the Checklist in the face of growing evidence of vast variations in the quality of care men with the
disease receive across the country. This is a best practice guide
for men and clinicians which shows the care and support men with
prostate cancer should except at every step of their journey.
Launching the Quality Checklist at the Lambeth Accord this week,
Councillor Jim Dickson said: "Prostate cancer is the most common
cancer in men, and I am acutely aware that men in Lambeth are more
likely to develop the disease than anywhere else in England. If we
are to ensure every one of these men gets the care that they need
and deserve then we must empower communities to take charge of
their own health as well as help implement best practice amongst
health professionals in the Borough.
"That is why we are proud to launch Prostate Cancer UK's Quality
Checklist. We are optimistic that with this initiative we can help
improve things for men in Lambeth and embrace the challenge of
ensuring it is embedded through health providers."
As well as being the area of the country where prostate cancer
is most prevalent, Lambeth also has a high African Caribbean
population - ten times higher than the rest of England. As African
Caribbean men are three times more likely to develop prostate
cancer than white men of the same age, this makes the situation for
men in the Borough even more
acute.
Owen Sharp, Chief Executive of Prostate Cancer UK said: "There
are 250,000 men living with prostate cancer in the UK and this
number is set to rise at an alarming rate. It is vital that all
these men get the quality of care they need and deserve wherever
they are in the country if we are to ensure more of these men have
a better quality of life in the future.
"We strongly welcome the support of Jim Dickson and his
colleagues at Lambeth Council for the Quality Checklist and look
forward to working together to ensure its swift and effective
implementation across the borough. I call on health providers and
commissioners across the country to follow their lead and adopt and
implement the checklist without delay. Men with prostate cancer
deserve the best, and we're absolutely determined that's exactly
what they are going to
get."
The Checklist has already been endorsed by over 120 MPs and
a number of health professional organisations. Prostate Cancer
UK is continuing to work closely with men and their families,
healthcare providers, politicians and health professionals to
ensure that the checklist is adopted and implemented throughout the
UK.