Cancer patients from deprived areas receive poorer care

In the first study in the United Kingdom to consider sociodemographic differences in managing patients with cancer, Pollock et al (p 245) showed from routine NHS hospital data that patients with lung, colorectal, and breast cancer from deprived areas were more likely to be admitted as emergencies, less likely to have day case procedures, and less likely to receive surgical treatment than their counterparts from affluent areas. Patients with colorectal cancer in deprived areas were more likely to be seen in hospitals treating fewer than 100 cases a year. More effective early diagnostic and referral procedures in primary care settings in deprived areas are required if there are to be significant reductions in mortality from these cancers. Rationalisation of acute services and bed closures must take into account inequities in access to treatment and care in areas with high levels of deprivation.


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Relevant Article

Deprivation and emergency admissions for cancers of colorectum, lung, and breast in south east England: ecological study
Allyson M Pollock and Neil Vickers
BMJ 1998 317: 245-252. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

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