The family of a suspected liver cancer sufferer have poured scorn on Prime Minister Boris Johnson ’s promise that hospitals will treat urgent cases.
Doctors have told teacher Dan Gough they are certain he has a malignant tumour on his bile duct - and warned an operation is the only cure.
But instead of surgery he is having weekly blood tests to monitor the spread of his disease as treatment at Aintree University Hospital in Liverpool is ‘on hold’.
Hospital leaders have warned the NHS faces a backlog that could take five years to clear as vulnerable patients are “collateral damage” of the NHS shutdown.
NHS England announced non-emergency treatments were being postponed from March but last week ordered them to be restarted.
The PM and NHS bosses have always insisted all urgent cancer treatments would go ahead as normal during the pandemic.
Concerned wife Kerrie said: “We’re devastated. We don’t know where to turn.
I’m checking the whites of his eyes daily because it’s only a matter of time before he gets jaundice.
“We’re just gobsmacked that we’ve been told Dan can’t have treatment for such a time-critical cancer.
“Boris Johnson’s promise on Thursday was a kick in the teeth. The nation is being hoodwinked.”
Languages teacher Dan, from Chester, was diagnosed by chance after suffering high blood pressure in December.
Blood tests revealed unusually high liver enzymes and scans at the Countess of Chester Hospital showed a bile duct blockage.
A biopsy in March came back negative but Dan was referred for a second one at Aintree in April.
The procedure was cancelled as he had Covid-19 symptoms, and a week later the results of a swab test confirmed he had the virus.
Consultant Hepatologist Dr Rizwan Saleem emailed the family two weeks ago outlining his diagnosis of a suspected Perihilar Cholangiocarcinoma tumour.
“Surgery is the only intervention which offers a chance of cure,” he wrote.
He went on to tell the family: “Unfortunately all cancer surgery is on hold and sadly we would not be able to offer him surgery at present.
“If his tumour remains stable and a surgical option became available then this would be considered at that stage.”
The family say they have been told this week that a second biopsy to confirm the tumour is also unavailable due to a shortage of anaesthetists.
Said Dan, 54: “Obviously I’m disappointed. We hear about other hospitals building capacity for treatment and hoped that would be the case for me,
but instead we’re faced with continuing uncertainty.”
It comes after Health Secretary Matt Hancock declared victory in the battle to stop the health service being overwhelmed by Covid-19.
He said there were 3,000 intensive care beds available, three times more than at the start of the outbreak even before counting the temporary Nightingale hospitals.
The NHS elective treatment waiting list already stood at a record 4.4 million before the coronavirus shutdown.
NHS England has not published the updated total for delayed operations.
Millions of patients are waiting for a new date for elective treatments including operations.
This week the NHS launched a campaign urging people to seek treatment for killer conditions as it revealed four in ten are ignoring symptoms for fear of burdening hospitals.
PM Boris Johnson reiterated the plea in Thursday’s pandemic briefing, saying: “It’s very important that if people have urgent conditions which need treatment they should go to hospital.
He added: “I can certainly say that when it comes to urgent cancer care people will get the treatment that they need.”
But Kerrie, also a teacher, said: “It’s ironic that the public is being asked to continue checking for cancer and to contact GPs if they’re concerned, but then there’s no screening or procedures available anyway.
“Dan almost certainly has a malignant tumour which at the moment is operable, but that won’t always be the case. We’re four months down the line now. Why wait?
“I’ve even tried ringing around other hospitals and found in London which could perform the operation, but they told us to go back to the GP. We’re back to square one.”
Chester MP Chris Matheson has written to Aintree hospital on behalf of the family, but has yet to receive a reply.
He said: “It’s a disgrace. What the public is being is told seems very distant from my experience and that of Dan and other constituents. This is not an isolated case - I’ve had two in the fortnight in Chester alone.
“Dan’s cancer sounds eminently treatable but time is always of the essence,
and they’ve just knocked him back.
“The emotional toll it must be having on him must be dreadful. The government needs to get a grip and ensure other urgent medical cases are dealt with.”
Oncologist Professor Karol Sikora, ex-director of the WHO’s cancer programme, said of the government’s treatment pledge: “They’re in a different world from the reality.
“The reality is that last week there was very little movement on cancer. Whether it will all start tomorrow - I’m doubtful.
“It’s the lack of anaesthetists that is the problem. The way you diagnose cancer is by getting a biopsy, getting a piece of tissue. That usually requires an anaesthetic and surgery, and if surgery hasn’t started you’re not going to diagnose cancer.
“The number of people we saw in April was a fall-off however you measure it - number of biopsies taken, number of samples received in labs, number of patients diagnosed with cancer - it’s all dropped off.
“The lack of anaesthetists is because they’re required in Covid19 ventilation treatment. There’s a whole question mark over how successful ventilation really is and I think we are going to let more people die if we don’t get back to some sort of semblance of business as normal.”
NHS chief Simon Stevens wrote to trusts on Wednesday outlining the second phase of the health service’s Covid-19 response and urging them to ‘step-up’ other emergency services.
“Providers must protect and deliver cancer surgery and cancer treatment by ensuring that cancer surgery hubs are fully operational,” he wrote.
Kerrie responded: “Whatever Boris Johnson is telling the public, and whatever Simon Stevens is telling hospitals, people who have cancer or who are trying to get diagnosed know the reality is very different.”
A spokesperson for Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, said: “We realise that this is a very difficult time for Mr Gough and his family, and his consultant will be discussing his care and next steps with him in detail.
“Working together with other hospitals, urgent cancer care has continued for our patients throughout the Covid-19 pandemic and every patient’s case is carefully assessed by clinicians.
“In line with national guidance, plans are currently being developed to safely increase the number of investigations and treatment over the coming weeks.”
