Third of cancer patients face

Third of cancer patients face ‘catastrophic’ two month wait for treatment

Over 2,000 people are currently missing out on a timely diagnosis every day while 15,000 are left waiting two months or more to start treatment, new analysis from the Liberal Democrats has revealed.

Professor Pat Price, a leading oncologist and co-founder of the #CatchUpWithCancer campaign, described cancer waiting times as “catastrophic and the worst ever”.

The Liberal Democrats urge the government to come forward with an urgent strategy to improve cancer care, after new statistics revealed that NHS England has yet again missed all four of its major targets for cancer waiting times.

Analysis by the party shows that from January to March 2022, nearly 150,000 people waited longer than two weeks to see a consultant after an urgent referral from their GP, or an average of 1,600 per day.

It means only 78 per cent of people saw a consultant within two weeks of a GP referral, way below the NHS target of 93%.

The figures also show that almost 200,000 or 29.5 per cent of people waited longer than 28 days to get a cancer diagnosis from their specialist after an urgent referral from a GP. This means the target of 75 per cent of people getting their diagnosis within this time was missed and that the equivalent of over 2,000 people per day missed out on a timely diagnosis.

Over 6,000 patients waited a month or more to begin their first treatment after a decision to treat the cancer, almost double the 4 per cent target.

Meanwhile, 15,000 or over one third of people waited two months or more to start cancer treatment after a referral from their GP. This means a target of 85% of people starting treatment within that period is being badly missed by 21 points.

Commenting, Liberal Democrat MP Tim Farron said: “This Conservative government has no real plan to fix the crisis in cancer waiting times. Ministers are sitting on their hands while people are being left in pain, or have to watch their loved ones suffering.

“The Conservatives have taken the NHS for granted for years and have their heads in the sand over huge staff shortages. The Queen’s Speech didn’t mention cancer care and Boris Johnson hasn’t even brought forward any new legislation to tackle this mess.

“He needs to bring forward a plan now – people bravely battling cancer deserve far better than being abandoned by a government that doesn’t do enough to ease their burden.”

The outcomes from the first quarter of 2022 continue the downward trend in GP referrals and cancer treatment seen in recent years. The percentage of patients seen and treated within the NHS target timeframes are now the worst on record.