More than 300,000 cancer patients will face treatment delays over the next five years unless the government drives up NHS performance, according to analysis done by the country’s leading cancer research organisation.
Cancer Research UK is predicting there will be 17.2 million urgent suspected cancer referrals in England over the next five years and, by 2029, there will be 20 percent more than in the past year alone.
The registered charity describes itself as “the world’s leading independent cancer research organisation” within the multi-billion pound cancer industry and reported a revenue of £719 million in 2023.
The current NHS waiting times target aims for 85 percent of cancer patients to begin treatment within 62 days of an urgent referral, but has not been met since 2015.
The Cancer Research UK analysis found that in the first six months of this year, just 65.9 percent of cancer patients were treated within the target timeframe in England, meaning more than 30,000 patients did not start treatment on time.
‘Ageing and Growing Population’
The charity said cancer rates are rising sharply because of an ageing and growing population and that patients were waiting too long to be diagnosed in the first place, largely because of too few staff and not enough diagnostic equipment.
The prediction comes the week after a major report on the NHS from surgeon and former minister Lord Darzi found that cancer care in England still lags behind comparable countries, and death rates are higher.
His study found there had been “no progress whatsoever” in diagnosing cancer at the earliest stages I and II between 2013 and 2021, although more recent figures suggest some improvement.
Cancer Research UK said there is a need for a long-term cancer strategy if the government is to meet its pledges on hitting treatment targets.
Chief executive Michelle Mitchell said the data provides “a stark warning” to the government.
“Whilst it’s reassuring that more patients are being referred for cancer checks, our health service does not have the required resources to cope with record numbers of people being diagnosed with cancer. Unless action is taken, things could be even worse in five years’ time.”
‘No Easy Fix’
But she cautioned that there is “no easy fix to this problem. We need to see long-term planning that provides the NHS with the equipment and staff it needs.”Claire Rowney, chief executive of Breast Cancer Now, said: “These latest bleak figures emphasise a devastating ‘new normal’ of long waits for people to get a cancer diagnosis and start vital treatment that gives them the best chance of survival.”
She said the government’s upcoming 10-year plan for health must include “ambitious, long-term solutions to tackle the issues being faced by cancer patients and ensure it’s backed by a fully-funded and staffed workforce.”
A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: “Lord Darzi’s independent investigation found that cancer is more likely to be a death sentence for NHS patients than patients in other countries.
“This is completely unacceptable and why we are taking action to turn the NHS around, so cancer patients are diagnosed and treated on time.
“As part of our 10-year plan to radically reform our broken NHS, we will fight cancer on all fronts–through prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and research–to give people the care they need.”
An NHS spokesman said: “Thanks to the huge efforts of staff, the latest data shows that the NHS is checking more people than ever before for cancer with almost 290,000 referrals in just one month, more people than ever before are getting the all-clear or a definitive diagnosis within the four-week standard and more than nine in 10 people started their treatment within a month in July.”
