Yesterday the Ministry of Health announced the approval of the National Cancer Plan 2030 by the government. The plan defines the future of cancer treatment in Czech hospitals and draws on European Union funds from the Czech Republic’s National Recovery Plan. Photo Credit: Vlastimil Válek / FB
Czech Republic, June 23 (BD) – The plan sets goals for cancer prevention and improvement of patients’ quality of life. According to the Ministry of Health, by 2035 cancer will be the leading cause of death in the EU, due not only to an ageing population but also to unhealthy lifestyles and a lack of health literacy. Currently, the most common cause of death in the Czech Republic is heart and vascular diseases, which are also related to lifestyle and ageing.
The project will use CZK 15 billion from the European Union through the National Recovery Plan (NRP). The fight against cancer, research and an improvement in hospital service are priorities of the Czech EU presidency.
Every year 27,000 people in the Czech Republic die of cancer and about 87,000 are diagnosed with the disease. Approximately 600,000 people in the Czech Republic are currently living with cancer, and one in three people will get cancer in their lifetime. The majority must continue to be monitored even after recovery. The public health insurance system therefore has to cope with the fact that this group will become larger and larger.
The National Cancer Plan also addresses the issue of access to care. According to the ministry, the current centralization of specialty care in comprehensive cancer and hemato-oncology centres has greatly contributed to improving the quality of care. “However, the availability of these centres is more limited in some regions, so the issue of accessibility is one of the main goals of the plan,” said Health Minister Vlastimil Válek (TOP 09). For example, the Karlovy Vary region is the only one without a comprehensive cancer centre.
With the approval of the plan, the government will be able to draw on NRP funds. A total of CZK 179 billion has been allocated to the Czech Republic; approximately CZK 15 billion is expected to be allocated to the health sector, almost half of which will go to oncology. Other priorities of the NRP are digitalization and green energy.
“The main task of the National Cancer Plan 2030 is to improve aspects of cancer treatment, including equal access to treatment for all Czech patients. We want expert and rapid evidence-based treatment, improved quality of life, monitoring, and action planning, and all of this while reducing overall costs,” said Válek.
