Hundreds of thousands of people in deprived areas in England who miss out on regular cancer screening will be encouraged to come forward and have early detection tests via mobile units at GP surgeries and food banks.
A new Neighbourhood Early Diagnosis Fund will see NHS money targeted at areas with the poorest take-up of screening for common forms of the disease like breast, cervical, liver and bowel cancer.
The scheme is being announced as part of the Government’s National Cancer Plan, expected next week, and will be funded as part of a £200m investment in local cancer care.
People in the most deprived communities in England are more likely to suffer premature death from cancer compared to those in more affluent areas, official figures show.
Millions behind on cancer check-ups
Health Secretary Wes Streeting, who was successfully treated for kidney cancer after early detection, said he wanted to end the “postcode lottery” which had led to inequalities in screening.
According to NHS England, millions of people nationwide are currently behind on their regular check-ups for routine cancer screening, including mammograms every three years for women aged 50 to 70 and bowel cancer tests every two years for people aged 50 to 74.
While these figures affect all socioeconomic groups, patients in deprived areas are particularly more likely to miss check-ups.
A report by Cancer Research UK last year found that death rates are nearly 60 per cent higher for people living in the most deprived areas of the UK compared with the least deprived, with around 28,400 cancer deaths each year linked to socioeconomic inequality.
And according to the Department of Health and Social Care, data from March 2021 to December 2023 showed the rates of premature death due to cancer were more than two times higher (101 per cent) in Blackpool (208 per 100,000 people) compared with Harrow (104 per 100,000 people) – the areas with the highest and lowest rates of premature death due to cancer respectively.
These disparities get worse when taking into account ethnicity, being born in the UK, and socioeconomic status.
Barriers include poor transport links to GP surgeries and hospitals, lack of time, financial constraints, lower awareness of symptoms and mistrust of the healthcare system.
Early diagnosis rates in 2024 and 2025 have been at their highest ever level, with the rise equating to around 10,000 more people diagnosed at the earliest stages in the last year.
Pilot schemes in Liverpool and Manchester
From this year, Cancer Alliances – regional NHS partnerships that coordinate cancer services – and neighbourhood health services will work directly with local communities, screening commissioners and providers to develop targeted campaigns aimed at reducing the gap in screening uptake between the most and least deprived areas.
The rollout will build on pilot schemes across the country which are already targeting low take-up of cancer tests.
In Greater Manchester, mobile lung cancer screening is reaching people aged 55–74 who smoke or have a history of smoking.
More than 1,200 patients have been diagnosed with lung cancer through the programme, with almost 80 per cent found at an early, treatable stage.
In Liverpool, a new mobile breast screening unit is bringing services directly to the north and central areas of the city, which have some of the lowest uptake rates in the country.
In Cheshire and Merseyside, people identified as being at risk of liver cancer are being directly offered tests via mobile trucks at GP practices, alcohol recovery services, food banks, diabetes clinics, sexual health clinics and homeless shelters.
Streeting: ‘I was one of the lucky ones’
Streeting said: “In 1948, Aneurin Bevan founded the NHS with a promise that the best possible care would be available to all, regardless of their ability to pay or where they live.
“ code lottery for cancer care we see today shows that promise has still not been realised. Our cancer plan will put this right, through investment and modernisation.
“I know from my own experience of being diagnosed with kidney cancer how vital early detection is. It was only caught by chance because I went to hospital about something else entirely.
“I was one of the lucky ones – but healthcare shouldn’t be left to luck. We will ensure that no community is left behind when it comes to catching cancer early. Wealth should not dictate health.
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“Advances in medical science allow us to screen much more accurately for early signs of cancer. Bringing this to every part of our country will help catch cancer earlier and treat it faster.”
Dr Claire Fuller, national medical director at NHS England, said: “Screening is crucial in helping the NHS catch cancers earlier and boost people’s chance of survival, but it’s vital that it is as easy to get screened in the most deprived areas as it is in the most affluent parts of England.
“Through the National Cancer Plan, we will work closer with local communities to ensure that barriers to early diagnosis and screening opportunities are eradicated and help to make England a world-leader for cancer survival.”
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