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Delivering Quality Cancer Care: How Can we Do it Better?

06 March 2018

Healthcare professionals, patients, policy-makers and other experts gathered in the European Parliament today to shine a light on how the needs of quality cancer care can be met across Europe.

Taking as its starting point the European Cancer Organisation's Essential Requirements for Quality Cancer Care, the discussion focused on:

  • Core elements of quality cancer care, including patient access to a multidisciplinary team of healthcare professionals;
  • Other patient perspectives on what constitutes quality cancer care;
  • Tools to measure quality cancer care; and,
  • European approaches toward achieving quality cancer care.

Philip Poortmans, President of the European Cancer Organisation, said:

“All of us want to see the achievement of high-quality cancer care for all patients. However, to reach that goal, we need to know what quality cancer care exactly entitles to, what its components are, and how to assess whether we have achieved our goals. That is where the Essential Requirements for Quality Cancer Care come in. These are statements of consensus between healthcare professionals and patients on the organisational specifications required for any healthcare system to provide high-quality care throughout the entire patient journey. The European Cancer Organisation is heavily engaged in the leadership task of turning that consensus into reality. For that reason, it was exciting to bring so many experts together today to jointly discuss and develop the roadmap to successful implementation.”

Ian Banks, Chair of the European Cancer Organisation's Patient Advisory Committee (PAC), said:

“One of the mantras that we have at the European Cancer Organisation is to value what matters most to patients. The Essential Requirements for Quality Cancer Care are applicable in any country, hospital or health care system within the EU. They are a result of discussion between healthcare professionals (HCPs) and patient advocates to ensure that good practice is available to all patients not just those in the richer countries. Unlike guidelines, which can often be ‘aspirational’, essential requirements demand action from hospital administrators, HCPs and policy makers in every country.”

Wendy Yared, Director of the Association of European Cancer Leagues (ECL), said:

“Our objective is to improve patient outcomes and experience, but so much remains to be done to ensure equal access to quality cancer care throughout the patient journey. At ECL, we work together with national cancer societies to improve quality of cancer care while focusing on the gaps in communication between healthcare professionals, patients and informal caregivers. We are delighted to join forces with the European Cancer Organisation and highlight this crucial topic at the European Parliament today.”

The meeting was held in the context of Quality Cancer Care Week 2018. It was organised by the European Cancer Organisation and European Cancer Leagues (ECL) in conjunction with the MEPs Against Cancer (MAC) group. The European Cancer Organisation and ECL extend their gratitude to Deirdre Clune MEP (EPP, IE) for hosting and chairing the meeting.