Fears cancer cases won’t be caught early as GPs report big fall in patients

CORONAVIRUS MEANS MANY AVOID APPOINTMENTS... BUT HEALTH CHIEFS SAY ‘DON’T DELAY CONTACTING GP’

FEARS have been raised over a “significant drop” in the number of people contacting their GPs with cancer symptoms.

Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board said doctors were reporting a big reduction in the number of people in North Wales getting in touch with symptoms of the disease.

They are worried that due to the coronavirus outbreak, people are avoiding getting appointments, which could mean people miss catching the disease early.

Although Public Health Wales have temporarily paused some of the population based screening programmes, people with symptoms that they are concerned about are still being encouraged to contact their GP.

Patients should continue to telephone their GP practice to seek assistance, with telephone, video and face to face consultations available.

Dr Jenny Liddell, a BCUHB Macmillan GP based at Corwen Health Centre, Denbighshire, said: “We recognise that many people are understandably very anxious and don’t want to put additional pressure on healthcare services during the Covid-19 pandemic.

“However, it’s important that people who are experiencing problems with their health, particularly those with persisting worrying symptoms that could be linked to cancer, don’t delay contacting their GP. We are urging people who have noticed any unusual or unexplained changes in their body to contact their GP. These changes are usually caused by something far less serious than cancer, but they could be a sign of the disease.

“We want people to know that they are not wasting their GP’s time by getting their symptoms checked. Spotting cancer early means treatment is much more likely to be successful.”

The health board said they would also like to reassure patients that measures have been introduced to ensure that assessment and treatment can be provided safely in GP surgeries and in hospitals across the region.

Dr Elaine Hampton, BCUHB Macmillan GP based at Cambria Surgery in Holyhead on Ynys Môn said: “We know this is a very anxious time for our patients and we want them to know we have put measures in place to ensure they can be safely assessed and provided with the treatment they need. This includes providing video consultations for the convenience and safety of patients, while face to face consultations are also still possible, where needed.

“We have also established separate Local Assessment Centres across the region to provide assessment for people displaying the symptoms of COVID-19. This is helping to reduce the risk of infection in our GP surgeries.

“Dedicated COVID-19 free areas have been established within our hospitals, so patients can be treated safely.”

The appeal comes after cancer experts warned that thousands more people could die from the disease as a direct result of the lockdown.