Senior Doctors Say The NHS Is Struggling To Provide Safe Cancer Care

The BBC has reported this week that senior doctors have said the NHS is struggling to provide safe and effective care for all cancer patients.

Patients are said to be waiting too long for vital treatment and tests. Half of all cancer units are reporting frequent delays for radiotherapy and chemotherapy, and the Royal College of Radiologists has warned that the UK is facing “chronic staff shortages”.

The BBC reports that NHS services across the whole of the UK have been struggling to meet cancer targets since well before Covid and the pandemic only increased the backlog.

Across England, one of the key targets is for cancer treatment to start within two months of an urgent referral by a GP. However, statistics show that in England, just 64% of patients start treatment in that time against a target of 85%.

As the BBC reports, there are other factors in play here, not just the pandemic and staff shortages. Scientific progress with cancer care has resulted in new, more effective techniques which are often far more complex for doctors to deliver.

In addition, the population is ageing, and there are strong links between age and cancer, meaning there is an increased demand for tests, treatment, and staff to deliver those services.

There is also another trend that has become apparent over the last decade – more people are coming forward to get checked after spotting possible symptoms. Whilst this is obviously positive because it can lead to many more being diagnosed earlier and when cancer is easier to treat, it also inevitably leads to more pressure on NHS services. This, in turn, leads to waiting times increasing and sometimes bottlenecks in the system.

The Royal College of Radiologists calculates there is now a 15% shortfall of specialist cancer doctors and that, without action, the gap will grow to 25% by 2027.

Whilst the statistics showing the shortfalls and delays are concerning in and of themselves, when you consider the potential consequences, it becomes far more horrifying. The Royal College of Radiologists says that for each month a patient waits to start cancer treatment, their risk of death is increased by around 10%.

Dr Tom Roques, a Consultant Oncologist, and the Vice President of the Royal College of Radiologists said:

However, since December 2022, there have been signs of some progress. The NHS in England has reported a reduction in the backlog of long waits for treatment and that it has hit one of its other standards for faster diagnosis for the first time.

There has also been some increase in recruitment of oncologists over the last three years.

A spokesperson for the Department of Health said:

This workforce plan is meant to set out how the Government will plug staffing gaps over the next 15 years.

Comment

Safe and effective care for cancer patients must be the priority for the NHS and the Government. Patients cannot afford to have a system that could potentially delay their vital tests and treatment. All the evidence is clear that early detection and treatment of cancer provide the best chance of a better outcome. It is devastating to see that the system is currently failing so many, and risks failing countless more.

There have been delays with the workplace plan promised by the Government, which is completely unacceptable in the face of such news. It is vital that urgent action is taken to continue to push forward with the signs of progress already being seen and to get cancer care back to optimum performance.