Thangam Debbonaire – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Thangam Debbonaire on 2016-09-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what recent discussions he has had with NHS England on the future of the common cancer clinical reference groups.

David Mowat

NHS England’s National Clinical Director for Cancer, Professor Chris Harrison, has been working with the four common cancer ‘clinical reference groups’ to clarify their role within the system, especially in relation to the Clinical Reference Groups that provide advice and expertise to NHS England on the best ways that specialised services should be provided.

NHS England has decided to continue the common cancer groups as ‘clinical expert groups’ and to bring together their chairs to form a clinical steering group for the national programme, to support a pathway approach to care management and measurement.