Pioneering new scheme to help Peterborough homeless people get vital healthcare to help them fight cancer

A pioneering new scheme to help bring vital life saving healthcare – with a focus on beating cancer – to homeless residents in Peterborough and across the East of England has been launched

The pioneering, two-year scheme will operate in Cambridge, Peterborough, Wisbech and King’s Lynn, with specially trained Health Navigators working from health centres and homelessness services.

Led by the East of England Cancer Alliance in a unique link up with Anglia Ruskin University, the initiative recognises that people who are homeless often face significant barriers to getting basic healthcare.

The new scheme is based on an initial pilot project called Cancerless, involving public health and clinical experts from across Europe, led by Lee Smith, Professor of Public Health at Anglia Ruskin University.

Many people who are homeless experience poor health and die from treatable conditions because they cannot access the care they need.

According to homelessness charity Shelter, the average age at death was 45 for men and 43 for women – this is more than 30 years lower than the average age at death of the general population.

The new team will aim to overcome these barriers by working with people to identify their health needs, connect with appropriate services and stay engaged with ongoing care.

The programme will place a particular focus on raising awareness of symptoms which may be linked to cancer, especially the early detection of liver cancer, which claims the lives of more than 500 people every year in the East of England.

Across the region, around 560 liver cancers are diagnosed in local hospitals each year, with 40 per cent of these diagnosed through NHS emergency settings such as A&E departments. This compares to an overall emergency diagnosis rate of 18 per cent for all cancers combined.

Liver cancer rates have increased by more than two-fifths (42%) in the UK over the past decade, according to Cancer Research UK.

Professor Peter Johnson, NHS clinical director for cancer said: “Homeless people who develop cancer face particular challenges in getting help, meaning the early symptoms may not be picked up and their cancer is much harder to treat by the time it is detected.

“This unique pilot by East of England Cancer Alliance is tackling some of the problems by reaching out to this group to offer screening as part of a national NHS England liver surveillance programme.

“The NHS is determined to make sure everybody has a fair chance of the most effective cancer treatment, and it comes after a record year for the number of diagnostic tests and checks.”

Professor Peter Hoskin, Consultant Oncologist and Clinical Director at the East of England Cancer Alliance, said: “The fact that so many liver cancers are diagnosed in emergency departments shows that these are being diagnosed at a late stage, when they are harder to treat, and this leads to worse outcomes.

“This new initiative, involving Health Navigators who are known and trusted by people facing homelessness in our region, is an important and effective way to address an urgent problem.”