Recommendation 19

Major specialist cancer hospitals have better access to staff, expertise and technology, and patients referred to these sites are more likely to be offered potentially life- saving surgery. During the pandemic, these hospitals were the ones most likely to be able to continue treatment, perpetuating regional disparities. Creating more of these specialist hospitals would ensure that cancer surgery was more resilient in 44 Cancer services the event of future health emergencies and would better spread specialist cancer services across the country. However, disparities may continue with services outside of these sites.