Tony Lloyd, Member of Parliament for Rochdale, recently attended a Parliamentary reception hosted by Macmillan Cancer Support to discuss their Save Our Support initiative, a campaign to ensure that the country has a fully funded and sustainable cancer workforce in order to support the millions of people living with cancer across the UK.

Tony Lloyd said, “The NHS is currently facing a shortage of nurses which is having a damaging effect on frontline services and the care patients receive here in Rochdale. There are more than 40,000 nurse vacancies in the NHS workforce and Government figures show that waiting times for cancer treatment and diagnosis are at record high levels. This is why I’m backing Macmillan’s campaign to ensure that my constituents have access to the fantastic nurse specialists that will support them through a very difficult time in their lives.

“The most recent Macmillan Workforce Census found worrying trends within the NHS which showed a high rate of unfilled positions, an aging workforce and an increased number of cancer nurses working in more junior positions. More than two thirds of Cancer Nurse Specialists have said they are not getting the support they need from the NHS. That’s because the NHS is buckling under increased pressure.

“At the moment, the hard truth is that there simply aren’t enough Cancer Nurse Specialists with the right skills to meet the needs of the growing cancer population which is set to reach 4million by 2030.

“The Government must ensure the NHS gets the new and fully trained cancer workforce that it needs, and must be included in the comprehensive plans within the NHS People Plan which will be published this year.”