Exclusive: Javid asks JN readers for help with 10 year ‘war on cancer’ plan
In appeal to Charedi community, Health Secretary asks for 'better ways' to reach women for cancer screening
Lee Harpin is the Jewish News's political editor
Health Secretary Sajid Javid has appealed directly to Jewish News readers to come forward with their own ideas on how to improve cancer care in this country, saying it is “my mission to tackle health disparities across all communities.”
The minister, who launched an eight-week long call for evidence to underpin his ambitious 10-year long cancer plan for England in February, stressed his belief that he wanted every community to “give us their voices.”
Appealing to the Orthodox community to offer their views on their experience of cancer care, and how we can do better, Javid said: “To the Strictly Orthodox community reading Jewish News, which I know they will be, I say come on the call for evidence and tell us what we ought to know.
“If you think there are better ways in reaching out, for example, to Jewish women to get a check for breast cancer, or with other cancer screening programmes, if you know a better way to do it, then I want to know. I want to know what that is.”
The Health and Social Care Secretary said he recognised that when it comes to cancer care in this country” in some places we are really good, but in other places we are not doing well enough.”
He added:” That’s why I want to gather the very best evidence that is out there from all communities, everyone including our Jewish community, about their own experiences. How they think we can improve things I terms of cancer care.
“I want to do that with the call to evidence that is on now – and which ends on Friday week.”
Javid stressed that it was his belief that while the Jewish community, like other minority communities, was smaller in numbers, it did not make their opinions less important.
“We already know, for example, that there are certain types of cancer that are higher risk to parts of our Jewish community,” he said.
“We know about the BRCA gene. It’s a real issue, and it is well evidenced.
“If you have the BRCA gene, which is more likely to be in an Ashkenazi Jewish background, then unfortunately you are more likely to get breast cancer.
“Therefore, it is even more important for Jewish women from Ashkenazi backgrounds to come forward for screening.”
Javid admitted the Covid pandemic had “set us back” in terms of people not being diagnosed for illnesses such as cancer.
“We know that during the height of the pandemic many people perfectly understandably stayed away from the NHS,” he said
“They didn’t come in the normal way, and knew it was rightly focused on those very ill from Covid.
“Cancers that would have got diagnosed in normal times didn’t. We estimate that at least 40, 000 have suffered as a result of not being diagnosed.”
But Javid said we are “in a much better place now with Covid” and we are “learning to live with it.”
He said the NHS “has got more resources and support than ever before.
Javid added: “I want therefore want to encourage people to come forward not just for cancer, but for any health problems they think they have that need professional opinion.”
The minister, a strong supporter of the Conservative Friends of Israel group, spoke to Jewish News just hours after chancellor Rishi Sunak delivered his Spring Statement.
He rejected claims that current cost of living crisis, and our continued recovery out of the pandemic, meant that funding for his 10 year-long “war on cancer” was likely to be impacted.
“The NHS is getting record amounts of funding,” argued Javid. “Obviously a lot of that is to deal within the impact of Covid, but it’s there to also ensure that it becomes even quicker and even more focused on the prevention of illness.
“The funding we are getting is at its highest level ever. All of that is in place, for the next few years that’s not my concern.
“I just want to make sure people come forward with their health challenges and do not stay away for any reason.”
You can assess Sajid Javid’s call for evidence here: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/10-year-cancer-plan-call-for-evidence
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