Hundreds of thousands of cancer patients are set to start their treatment late over this parliament unless the government improves NHS waiting times performance, new analysis from Cancer Research UK has warned today.
Despite NHS England aiming for at least 85% of patients to start their cancer treatment within 62 days of an urgent referral, statistics from the first six months of this year show that figure to be closer to 66%, meaning as many as 30,000 patients started treatment later than intended.
NHSE has not met the 85% target itself since December 2015.
A growing problem
While the NHS is seeing more patients than ever before, the country’s expanding and ageing population means that the health service is only going to see more demand.
CRUK projections suggest that there will be 3.75 million urgent cancer referrals in England in 2029 – 21% more than the 3.1 million last year.
If performance stays at the same level seen during this year, a further 301,000 patients would start their cancer treatment late between July 2024 and June 2029.
“Hardworking staff across the NHS are treating more patients in England than ever before, but this data provides a stark warning to the UK Government,” said CRUK’s CEO, Michelle Mitchell.
“Our health service does not have the required resources to cope with record numbers of people being diagnosed with cancer. Unless action is taken, things could be even worse in five years’ time.”
Long-term planning
Previous research has indicated that a four-week delay to cancer surgery starting can increase the risk of mortality by 6-8% - the number of treatment options available also shrinks.
With Health Secretary Wes Streeting vying to reach crucial cancer waiting times targets by the end of this parliament, CRUK says the best way forward is via a long-term plan cancer plan which would allow the NHS to tackle the disease on sustainable footing.
Mitchell added: “The Health and Social Care Secretary’s pledge to meet cancer wait time targets by the end of this parliament is encouraging, and we look forward to working with the UK Government to achieve this. But there’s no easy fix to this problem.
“We need to see long-term planning that provides the NHS with the equipment and staff it needs.”
Image credit: iStock
