Toby was delighted to attend the parliamentary reception ahead of the Macmillan Cancer Support ‘Worlds Biggest Coffee Morning 2021’ on 24^th September.

This year’s focus is the effect on cancer support from the Coronavirus Pandemic. Macmillan warn of workforce shortages, lack of specialist nurses and care and, burnout of staff in the industry.

The NHS has witnessed severe pressures during the pandemic. It has been exacerbated by over a decade of underfunding and lack of support.

Macmillan Cancer Support warn of the need for 3,371 cancer nurse specialists as the number of people expected to be living with the disease is expected to reach 3.3 million in 2030.

Toby said “It was great to meet Macmillan staff and volunteers at the parliamentary event. The heart-breaking stories heard from the nurses on the frontline of a lack of staff or burnout due to pressures has made these coffee mornings even more important. Every year, I have been an obsessive tea drinker and cake consumer in a good cause!

Normally, I’ve attended eight or nine of these events in a day in Chesterfield, but this year it sounds like there are far fewer going on, so I absolutely encourage Chesterfield residents to get involved and have a coffee or tea and raise some money for Macmillan”.

At the event, Toby discussed these issues with Eamon O’Reilly, a specialist cancer nurse at Westminster and Chelsea Hospital in London. He said “the pressures that health staff have been under in the last 18 months have been tough, but also tough for cancer nurses. We need to support from government to plug the gap of cancer infrastructure so we can provide the best care to patients.”

The charity provide key support for patients and their families following a cancer diagnosis. This could be from providing emotional support through their dedicated support line or through the Macmillan nurses that provide specialist care throughout treatment.

Macmillan Cancer is calling on the Chancellor to commit to a Cancer Nurse Fund of £124m within the Autumn spending review and to double the number of cancer nurses in England by 2030.

Prior to the Comprehensive Spending Review, Toby sent the Chancellor a letter expressing his concerns about the problems that the pandemic has created for cancer care and the need for hiring more staff to clear this backlog.

Regrettably, despite recent reports estimating that an extra £12B is required to clear the backlog of missed diagnoses and treatment, including cancer, the Chancellor has failed to make these funds available in his recent Budget statement.

If you want to get involved with the ‘Worlds Biggest Coffee Morning 2021’ head to coffee.macmillan.org.uk to get your fundraising pack and register your event.

Also, if you want to talk to Macmillan about their services or for advice call the support line on 0808 808 00 00. They are open 7 days a week, 8am – 8pm.