PROSTATE Cancer UK launched their erectile dysfunction campaign last Thursday after data revealed many survivors were not being offered the support needed.

The campaign, launched on November 17, found one in four men were not offered the support or medication to the deal with the condition.

Data obtained from freedom of information requests to more than 230 commissioners across the UK found only 13% of local commissioners were providing the breadth of support necessary.

The report revealed the clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) offering the least support in London are Hillingdon, Ealing, Hounslow and Wandsworth.

Martin Abrams, change delivery manager at Prostate Cancer UK, said: “It probably comes down to the fact that it’s a condition that isn’t very well understood.

“For many years it has been a taboo and men aren’t very good at talking about it.

“If someone has had prostate cancer, then there is a very high risk they will have erectile dysfunction.

“Health professionals should be able to identify that risk and offer the five different treatments and support services for men that may have erectile dysfunction.

“If they’re not, that’s an internal failure, but one that is seen from our point of view as a national failure in terms of leadership from the very top.”

Mr Abrams described the postcode lottery of support that spans across the UK and the wide disparity between CCGs in the country.

He said: “It’s really poor because it can have a dramatic impact on men's mental health and there are subsequent costs this can then incur on NHS services as a result of not having a long-term view.

“First and foremost, in England, no one is taking ultimate responsibility for who is meant to issue what’s called commissioning guidance for prescribing particular drug treatment for erectile dysfunction.

“We have tried our utmost to try and find out who is ultimately responsible for this and that will form part of our national campaign to get to the bottom of that.”

Mr Abrams described the lack of leadership from the Department of Health, which has subsequently led to confusion and a lack of clarity among CCGs over who provides these services on the front line.

Mr Abrams said: “It’s their ultimate responsibility to make sure the correct treatment guidance for erectile dysfunction is issued.

“It’s not been updated for many years, and it now needs to be updated to reflect the current state of the health service and the increase in men with erectile dysfunction.

“There also needs to be a responsibility taken from each and every clinical commissioning group across England.

“It’s simply not good enough that all because of where you live, you may not be able to get the same treatment as a friend or colleague who lives in a different commission area.

“We hear quite a lot about postcode lotteries, but research has definitely found that treatment and support available is a postcode lottery, so we want to see improvements across the board.”

Hillingdon CCG initially responded to Prostate Cancer UK stating they do not provide or hold information on the necessary support services.

However, they later confirmed that they do in fact buy all the services but explained their role was not to provide them directly.

A Hillingdon CCG spokesperson said: “Any Hillingdon resident with erectile dysfunction gets care in accordance with gold standard NICE guidelines.

“Over 90% of patients are treated at our local acute hospital with access to psychosexual and psychological support available as part of the recovery package.

“Cancer care is commissioned by NHS England and we are working with them to improve all round care for people with cancer – including prostate cancer.”

The five treatments CCGs should be providing are: access to a NHS erectile dysfunction clinic, appropriate medication including daily low dose tadalafil (Cialis), vacuum pumps and access to psychosexual and counselling services.

Mr Abrams said that men were missing out on receiving the specific support needed after their battle with prostate cancer on the groundwork of semantics.

He added: “This is where the problem begins for men specifically who are the service users.

“There is a huge amount of confusion about who is a provider, who is a commissioner and who is issuing the guidance for these commissioners as to whether they provide certain services.

“The whole thing is a bit of a mess, and ultimately it’s men with erectile dysfunction that are suffering as a result.”

Amid the confusion of accountability, Prostate Cancer UK are making huge strides to change the current state of affairs, lower prostate cancer figures in the next ten years and eventually reach a point where they are no longer needed as an organisation.

“We’re putting a huge amount of money into funding research to make sure diagnosis improves and we’re prioritising treatment options for men with prostate cancer, ensuring that men get the right support,” Mr Abrams added.