UK Edition
Cancer patients referred for urgent treatment faced the worst delays ever in 2022, NHS data reveal.
A record 66,195 people waited longer than 62 days last year, up more than a third on 2021, 48,892, and almost double the pre-pandemic figure of 36,664.
NHS standards state that 85 per cent of patients should receive their first treatment within 62 days of a referral.
However, the latest figures from NHS England show only 62 per cent were seen within the target time in the final quarter of 2022.
Doctors have warned that every four weeks of delay in starting treatment can increase the risk of death by 10 per cent.
Prof Pat Price, the co-founder of the Catch Up With Cancer campaign, said: “Frustratingly, we keep hearing ministers and NHS leaders say ‘Everything is OK’ because of ‘record numbers of cancer patients’. But there are record numbers of around 17,500 cancer patients waiting beyond the 62-day target.
“Without more treatment capacity, such as radiotherapy, this just leads to record long waiting lists. It is absolutely not OK.”
The NHS has said it is seeing and treating more people for cancer than ever before, but the data also show the number of patients waiting longer than 62 days has increased every quarter since June 2021.
Figures show the proportion beginning their first treatment within 62 weeks has dropped steeply since April-June 2021, when about 74 per cent were seen within the target.
Separate NHS data show 213,442 urgent cancer referrals were made by GPs in England in December, down 19.3 per cent from a record 264,391 in November and one per cent on the 216,080 figure from Dec 2021.
However, the proportion of cancer patients in England who saw a specialist within two weeks of being referred urgently by their GP increased from 78.8 per cent in November to 80.3 per cent in December, but was still below the 93 per cent target.
Meanwhile, 70.7 per cent of patients urgently referred for suspected cancer were diagnosed or had cancer ruled out within 28 days in December, up from 69.7 per cent the previous month.
Ambulance response times improve
The elective recovery plan sets a goal of March 2024 for 75 per cent of patients who have been urgently referred by their GP for suspected cancer to be diagnosed or have cancer ruled out within 28 days.
The number of people in England waiting to start routine hospital treatment has risen slightly to 7.20 million people at the end of December, up from 7.19 million in November but below the 7.21 million figure in October, which was the highest number since records began in Aug 2007.
Ambulances across England have also improved their response times for reaching people who called 999.
The average response time in January for ambulances dealing with the most urgent Category 1 incidents, such as cardiac arrest, was eight minutes and 30 seconds, down from 10 minutes and 57 seconds in December.
The target standard response time for urgent incidents is seven minutes.
Meanwhile, it took an average of 32 minutes and six seconds in January to respond to Category 2 emergency calls such as heart attacks, strokes and sepsis, down sharply from one hour, 32 minutes and 54 seconds in December.
However, the response time is still well above the target of 18 minutes.
It is unclear why there has been such an improvement in response times, though factors may include less flu in the community, people keeping away from the health service due to nursing and ambulance strikes, and falling Covid cases among the general population.
Saffron Cordery, the deputy chief executive of NHS Providers, said: “This has been one of the toughest winters for the NHS, but the hard work of trust leaders and their staff is leading to promising results.
“Despite demand for urgent and emergency care services remaining very high, ambulance response times have improved considerably.”
She added: “However, we’re still not in the clear: waits of 18 months or more have gone up, and trust leaders are deeply concerned that other pressures – including staff shortages and escalating strikes – could not only obstruct future gains but derail ones already made.
“Bed occupancy is too high, still above what’s safe, despite more beds being made available with pressures also on mental health and community services.
“Trust leaders are also worried about the strain that delayed discharges are putting on the entire system.
“Currently, 14,000 medically fit patients are unable to leave hospital, in part due to the need for more investment in social care and community services.”
Prof Sir Stephen Powis, the national medical director of NHS England, said: “Today’s figures show that despite ongoing pressures across the health service, including industrial action, NHS staff are continuing to work flat out to deliver the best care for patients, with ambulance response times improving last month as the NHS continued to progress on its winter plan.”
He said that the number of people in hospitals with norovirus has jumped significantly, showing viruses other than flu and Covid are still a concern.
Steven McIntosh, the executive director of advocacy and communications at Macmillan Cancer Support, said: “Today’s data must incite change. The Government can no longer sidestep its responsibility for such systemic failures within cancer care.
“We need the upcoming Spring Budget to deliver an urgent support package for cancer care, as well as a fully funded workforce strategy implemented right across the NHS in England.”
An NHS spokesman said: “The NHS has been seeing and treating record numbers of people for cancer, and is diagnosing a higher proportion of cancers at an early stage than ever before, making them easier to treat successfully.
“The record demand has of course had a knock-on impact. But the latest monthly data actually shows the proportion of people starting treatment within two months has gone up.
“And while we continue to invest in diagnostic and treatment services, we have made clear to trusts that reducing numbers of people waiting over 62 days must be a top priority.”