An examination of data from NHS England reveals that patients with suspected skin and breast cancer have had the biggest increases in waiting times of everyone immediately referred to a cancer expert, with one in 20 patients now experiencing the worst waits.
In July, nearly 10,000 patients who were referred by a general practitioner to a cancer specialist had to wait longer than 28 days—double the recommended maximum waiting time of 14 days. According to a Guardian investigation, three-quarters of them may have had skin, breast, or lower gastrointestinal cancer.
To visit a cancer specialist, 53,000 patients in England had to wait longer than two weeks. That represents 22% of all patients who were promptly recommended by their doctors for a cancer appointment.
People are waiting "far too long for diagnosis or essential treatment," according to Macmillan Cancer Support's head of policy Minesh Patel. Patients "are concerned about how these delays would affect the quality of their care and prognosis."
According to Matt Sample, policy manager at Cancer Research UK, "the NHS has never worked more," yet patients having to endure lengthy waits "reflects a bigger picture of some of the worst waits for tests and treatments on record."
"This is unacceptable since it just takes a few weeks for some tumors to advance."
Seven times as many patients are currently waiting for an urgent cancer investigation as there were six years ago. In comparison to 3.8% during the same period in 2022, there were just 0.5% fewer people waiting longer than four weeks every month between May and July of 2016.
But individuals with breast and skin cancer are the ones whose circumstances have worsened the most. The individuals who waited the longest in 2016 were just 0.3% of those with probable breast cancer and 0.6% of those with skin tumors. Between May and July 2022, that number will increase by 16 and 8 times, reaching a monthly average of 5% of the patients.
Compared to this, just 1.3% of persons with suspected testicular, brain, and hemological cancers wait more than 28 days to see a specialist, an increase of 1% since 2016.
The fact that there had been "such a large increase" concerned
"Breast cancer services are now receiving extraordinarily high numbers of urgent breast referrals each month, and combined with the significant breast cancer workforce shortages which existed before Covid-19, this has resulted in spiraling waiting times despite the heroism of NHS professionals," according to Covid-19.
The majority of breast cancer patients in England are treated at Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust, yet there are also some of the longest wait times for women there. More over half of the patients were, on average, examined by an oncologist after 28 days following an urgent referral from their GPs between May and July of this year.
A monthly average of 22% of individuals with suspected cancer were seen by a specialist after four weeks between May and July of this year, according to the trust's analysis of patient wait times for all cancers.
The demand has risen above pre-pandemic levels, according to a trust spokesman, but "our teams continue to work extremely hard to enhance our overall cancer performance and reach the two-week wait for urgent cancer referrals," she added.
At least 93% of patients with probable cancer should be seen by a specialist within 14 days of an urgent referral from their GPs, but the situation is similar in many regions of the country, with nearly three-quarters of the 127 cancer care providers assessed missing the two-week objective.
This government ought to prioritize fighting cancer, Sample said. We appreciate Thérèse Coffey, the health secretary, renewing her commitment to a 10-Year Cancer Plan, but now we need to see results. That entails implementing a thorough and properly financed cancer plan that elevates cancer services from being behind the curve to being at the forefront.
According to Patel, the strategy "has to contain specifics on how the government will train and retain additional cancer specialists, so that all persons with cancer receive the prompt and effective care they require and deserve." We have to stop waiting.
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