Are There Enough Oncology Nurses in the UK

When it comes to the oncology nursing field there was some good news back in 2014 that indicated the number of these specialty nurses were at a all time high. One of the many problems that arises with this area of medicine is the increased number of cancer diagnoses that are made. Cancer is not a disease that is treated quickly so reducing the number of patients that are in need of treatment goes at a very slow pace.

This creates a lot of challenges for oncology nurses and when there is news that there is an increase in the number of professionals joining this field of medicine then it give them a sense of confidence in knowing that at least some of the resources needed for cancer patients is going to be them.

In 2017 another sense of urgency regarding oncology nurses specifically specializing in breast cancer came to light. Breast cancer can be life threatening and patients diagnosed with this need all the care and support they can get.

It is a normal practice in the UK for a specialty nurse to be assigned to a patient who has been diagnosed with this form of cancer. What has been discovered is that in many instances this is not happening, and many breast cancer patients are suffering because of this.

The question is whether there are enough oncology nurses specializing in this field of cancer or are some of the medical institutions neglecting to ensure that this type of care is available. It is critically important to those patients that are stricken with advanced breast cancer and need extensive care when all indications are that it is not treatable.

Another important factor is that when an oncology nurse is assigned to the patient with late stage breast cancer it can help keep the patient out of the hospital for at least a period of time in some cases. This helps to ease the burden on hospitals that are financially strapped, and have a shortage of room.

It takes a very special individual to decide to specialize in the field of oncology medicine, and this may be one the reasons why this latest issue has surfaced. In any event every effort must be made to entice nurses to enter into this specialty.