Missing cancer waiting time targets should not become the new normal (Report, 7 November). Thousands of people have not started their treatment on time in the last two and a half years. This is hugely troubling. Not only is this an incredibly worrying time for individuals, but delays to diagnosis can also impact on how well we treat cancer. Earlier diagnosis means a greater chance of surviving cancer. The diagnostic bottleneck will only get worse without action now – and it looks as though we could reach a very disappointing three year anniversary of missed targets in February.
The NHS is taking steps to tackle this, as they had a waiting times taskforce last year, and the national cancer director acknowledged the challenge in the recent “one-year-on” cancer strategy progress report. But even with efforts to improve processes or do things differently, our hospitals simply do not have enough staff to deliver tests on time. More than 1.5 million urgent GP referrals for suspected cancer were made in England last year – a 50% increase over the past four years. This is good news – more referrals means more patients are being appropriately picked up in primary care and more will be tested. But these numbers mean that without more capacity, people waiting for tests and treatment are left in limbo. The government has recognised that the NHS needs more staff involved in diagnostic tests or efforts to diagnose cancer earlier will be undermined. Now that the problem is acknowledged, we need concerted effort to change the situation.
In the short term, this needs money for hospital trusts to recruit staff, and coordinated, proactive international recruitment. In the medium term, we need to get much better at planning the number of doctors, nurses and other health professionals like radiographers or biomedical scientists that we train and employ. And we must see an increase in numbers for professions such as radiology, endoscopy, nursing and cellular pathology where there’s a clear shortfall. This isn’t a problem with a quick fix but that’s no excuse not to act with haste.
Sir Harpal Kumar
Chief executive, Cancer Research UK
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