Jonathan Ashworth – 2020 Comments on Panorama’s Investigation into Cancer Deaths

Below is the text of the comments made by Jonathan Ashworth, the Shadow Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, on 6 July 2020.

These figures should be wake up call for Ministers – we already know that there’s been a drop in urgent referrals for cancer and waiting times for vital scans are soaring.

There will be tragic consequences if Ministers do not urgently put in place the measures needed to restore cancer services and get people the treatment they need.

We need a fully-resourced plan to restart cancer services; a strategy that enables us to move between the competing demands of the Covid-19 pandemic and non-Covid related care in the months ahead.