Prostate Cancer UK urges Stormont to tackle ‘critical gaps’ in support services for men with prostate cancer

Today (Thursday 2nd October) Prostate Cancer UK is seeking urgent help from MLAs of all parties in its call for Stormont to address ‘critical gaps’ in Northern Ireland’s support services for men with prostate cancer. The call for action comes as the men’s health charity unveils its own plans to counter a lack of state services for men facing the effects of the disease.

MLAs will be amongst those attending a Prostate Cancer UK reception sponsored by the Health Committee at Stormont this lunchtime, which will include Health Minister Jim Wells as one of the key note speakers alongside representatives from each of the four main parties.
Prostate cancer is the most common cancer amongst men in Northern Ireland with over 7,500 1 men living with and after the disease. Although survival rates are improving, treatments can bring a number of distressing and life-changing side effects - for example a Prostate Cancer UK survey shows that 76% of men who have had prostate cancer treatment report experiencing erectile dysfunction, 69% loss of libido, and 68% urinary incontinence2.

Today Prostate Cancer UK highlights the absence of any support services in the country tailored to help men with prostate cancer deal with some of these side effects, specifically psychosexual issues or with incontinence. Shockingly, there are also less than half the number of Cancer Nurse Specialists (CNS) for people with prostate cancer than there are for those with breast cancer3 - despite evidence showing that access to a CNS can greatly improve a man’s ability to cope with his illness2. There are also no services to help gay, bisexual and trans-women prostate cancer patients who can have specific, often un-met, needs.

In a bid to end these inequalities, Prostate Cancer UK is now urging MLAs to help implement the Prostate Cancer UK Quality Checklist for Northern Ireland 4. Based on research amongst men and health professionals, this ‘gold standard’ is a guide for both doctors and patients and sets out what services men with prostate cancer should expect to receive wherever they live. Importantly, it can also be used by MLAs to hold health commissioners to account and drive up the quality of services.

Dr Sarah Cant, Director of Policy and Strategy at Prostate Cancer UK said: “There are critical gaps in prostate cancer support for men in Northern Ireland. They get a raw deal when it comes to getting them through the life changing side effects that can accompany treatment. The Department of Health, Social Services & Public Safety has already said that improving access to rehabilitation and recovery services should be a priority5, however progress for prostate cancer patients has been slow. As treatments improve, more men than ever will be living through the disease and that makes it even more urgent that the right structures are put in place to support them. Today we are calling on MLAs to back our Quality Checklist by working with their local Health and Social Care Trusts to provide top quality support for all men with prostate cancer. The time for action is now.”

Already an important funder of research in Northern Ireland6, Prostate Cancer UK today backed its call to Stormont with the announcement that it is launching its own initiatives to help bridge the gap in service provision, made possible with funding from the Movember Foundation. These include psychosexual support and relationship counselling, social support groups for gay and bisexual men, and future funding for a physiotherapist post at Belfast City Hospital focussing on reducing the impact of continence problems following surgery to remove the prostate7. The new Northern Ireland services are backed by the charity’s well established free information materials, peer support forums, and a dedicated specialist nurse telephone line.

Prostate Cancer UK will work closely with a network of local organisations to implement the new on-the-ground services. Partners include Relate Northern Ireland, Men’s Action Network, and the Rainbow Project.

Dr Cant continued: “Men in Northern Ireland are being let down and we can’t just stand by. Prostate Cancer UK already has a history of funding world class research in Northern Ireland and now we are in a position to deliver vital on-the-ground support to men as well. By working with established partners, and drawing on their extensive local expertise, we can begin to address the lack of support services immediately and get on with improving lives. However, this is only the start of a solution; men deserve to see our efforts being backed by real commitment to the delivery of more permanent support services from the Executive, the DHSSPS, and HSC Trusts. Only then will we see lasting improvements across the country.”

A number of Northern Ireland politicians have already shown their support for the cause by signing up to be part of Men United 8, a new movement led by Prostate Cancer UK dedicated to beating prostate cancer once and for all. Those who have signed up include David Ford MLA, Naomi Long MP and Mark Durkan MP.

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