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As Britain faces a cancer crisis due to treatment delays, doctors have warned that the care backlog needs the same urgent attention as the search for a Covid vaccine.
NHS figures show that of the 14,425 cancer patients referred urgently by their GP in October, only 60.3% waited less than two months to start treatment. This was the second worst performance on record and fell just short of the target of 85%.
Doctors at Imperial College London, King’s College, Radiotherapy UK and the Institute for Cancer Policy at Check4Cancer said delays in treating cancer patients must be addressed now, adding: “The UK public and the NHS must not tolerate the normalization of delayed cancer care.”
Writing in the Lancet Journal of Oncology, they pointed to the “survival gap” compared to many other countries, adding: “Although all NHS backlogs are important, the cancer backlog is the most time-sensitive and the most lethal.
“The NHS and frontline staff need the same urgency and leadership that was given to the Covid-19 vaccine taskforce, combined with the power to work through obstructive bureaucracy.”
When it comes to cancer treatment, the doctors said, a four-week delay in treatment “increases the mortality rate for solid cancers by between 6% and 13%, increasing further if the delay is longer… Complex cancers tend to be fragile and fail. . in the UK before their collapse during the Covid-19 pandemic.
“The 2021 Joint All-Party Parliamentary Group Cancer Summit report highlighted multiple reasons for their failure, including a worsening staffing crisis, lack of short-term and long-term planning to address staff shortages, inadequate diagnosis, [radiology and pathology] and treatment capacity, and outdated information technology infrastructure.
The new NHS workforce plan “should lead to major improvements in cancer care”, but “short-term measures are now needed to save lives”.
They added: “To urgently improve cancer survival, the UK needs to deliver cancer treatments within the recommended timeframes. No research breakthrough required – just an effective, efficient way to diagnose and treat cancer patients.” To achieve this, the NHS must retain staff and “give them the tools and support they need to do their jobs”.
The team called for greater investment in radiotherapy, as it is in danger of collapsing, despite the fact that at least 53% of UK cancer patients need it.
Professor Pat Price, oncologist and founder of the CatchupwithCancer campaign, one of the authors of the report, said: “This is a watershed moment for UK cancer services – the biggest cancer crisis ever – we cannot accept the normalcy of waiting for record-breaking cancer treatment. Time
“Clinicians know it doesn’t have to be this way and we don’t need new ground-breaking research to avert disaster. We need a radical new plan, investment in capacity solutions in treatments like radiotherapy and political will to treat more patients on time. If ever there was a time for us to deliver a much-needed investment in cancer care, it’s now.”
Wilmslow-based GP, Dr. Amar Ahmed said: “It is very clear that Britain is in the midst of a growing cancer crisis. Just as there was a concerted national effort to tackle the Covid pandemic, we need a similar national campaign to address the declining status of cancer diagnosis and treatment in the UK.”
An NHS spokesman said: “The NHS is investing billions to expand diagnostic and treatment services to meet increased demand, as well as launching new initiatives including straight-to-test services, a cancer symptom hotline and a mobile lung scanning truck, which diagnoses has already happened. More than a thousand cancers earlier when they are easier to treat.
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