NEARLY HALF OF URGENT CANCER PATIENTS WAITING MORE THAN TWO MONTHS FOR TREATMENT
Almost 40 per cent of urgent cancer patients waited more than two months to start treatment in 2024, analysis has shown.
Cancer Research UK said that 74,000 patients faced these deadly delays while more than one in 10 waited for at least four months to begin treatment.
A four-week delay to start treatment increases the risk of death by between 6 and 8 per cent, according to a BMJ study by Queen’s University in Canada, and can cause distress and anxiety.
The NHS target is for 85 per cent of patients to begin treatment within 62 days of an urgent referral.
The Government has committed to hitting this again by the end of the current parliament in 2029.
But in 2024, only 62.2 per cent of patients were seen within that time, only two percentage points more than in 2023.
One Cancer Voice, a coalition of more than 50 charities including Cancer Research UK, said the slow progress put that target at risk.
The group are lobbying the Government to reform NHS cancer care, including by funding more staff and equipment.
Wes Streeting, the Health Secretary, has committed to publishing a National Cancer Plan this spring.
Unbelievable stress and anxiety
Michelle Mitchell, Cancer Research UK’s chief executive, said: “Behind every one of these numbers is a family member, friend or loved one facing unbelievable stress and anxiety, where every day can feel like forever.”
She added: “The National Cancer Plan can be a turning point for cancer patients across England, but the Government must invest in staff and equipment alongside reforms if it’s to hit all cancer waiting time targets by the end of this Parliament.”
Dame Laura Lee, the chief executive of the cancer support charity Maggie’s, said: “Waiting to begin cancer treatment can be an incredibly distressing and anxious time. Every single one of those 74,000 people have had their lives changed forever by their diagnosis, and coping with that news can be so much harder when you also have to wait too long to start treatment.”
She said that the charity was “calling on the Government to urgently address these long waits and take action to ensure people facing a life-changing cancer diagnosis receive the care they need as quickly as possible”.
The analysis also found people with some types of cancer were more likely to face delays.
Some 44 per cent of patients with gastrointestinal cancers, such as bowel and anal cancers, were late to start treatment in 2024, as well as 59.1 per cent of lung cancer patients, according to Cancer Research UK.
Earlier in February, the Government launched a call for evidence to help shape a plan to transform how the disease is treated and reduce deaths.
The latest NHS figures showed an improvement in monthly cancer referrals.
‘Improvement against all standards’
In December 2024, the proportion of patients who began treatment within 62 days was its highest since the measure was first recorded in April 2022, at 71.3 per cent.
GPs in England made 235,157 urgent cancer referrals in December, down from 259,563 in November but up year-on-year from 220,350 in December 2023.
The proportion of patients receiving a diagnosis or having cancer ruled out within 28 days also reached a new high of 78.1 per cent in December.
The NHS said urgent referrals for suspected cancer had doubled in the past decade to more than 3.1 million.
Prof Peter Johnson, the NHS’s national clinical director for cancer, said: “We know that too many people are waiting too long for cancer treatment, but thanks to the hard work of staff we have seen real improvement this year against all three standards with a steady reduction in waiting times to start treatment and the faster diagnosis standard being met in eight of the last 10 months.
“Although there is still much more to do to ensure patients receive a timely diagnosis and treatment, we are now seeing record numbers come forward for urgent checks – with suspected cancer referrals more than doubling in the last decade – and more people than ever are being diagnosed at an early stage, helping ensure that cancer survival has never been higher,” he added.
2025-02-13T17:23:03Z
