Characterising the cancer healthcare professional workforce in the UK

A coherent and comprehensive programme of cancer care education and training is needed to address variation in provision across the UK and the ageing workforce. Cancer nursing and allied health professionals experience difficulties in accessing specialist education and training, but provision requires sound data intelligence. Initial findings reported here can be built on in larger scale, longer term studies. The European Oncology Nursing Society cancer nursing education framework and the Health Education England ACCEND capability framework provide structure for specialist development and career planning for cancer nurses and allied health professionals. What is now needed is imagination, creativity, motivation, support and funding to implement these frameworks.