40-day wait to find out if you have got cancer
Experts’ alarm at diagnosis delays
THE average time it takes for a cancer diagnosis on the NHS is 40 days – well short of the Government’s 28-day target.
A report analysing data from more than 17,000 patients revealed time from referral to diagnosis exceeded 28 days in 54% of cases.
The audit, published in the British Journal of General Practice, found the 40-day wait in data from 2014.
Previous research has found Britain lags behind most of western Europe on cancer survival rates.
Experts have long highlighted the need for earlier diagnosis. Dr Jodie Moffat, of Cancer Research UK, said: “Patients are more likely to survive when diagnosed at an early stage. Too many patients have waited far too long. This must change.”
Health officials have set a target for all cancer patients to be diagnosed within 28 days by 2020.
The report, funded by Cancer Research UK and NHS England, found breast cancer patients waited 14 days – kidney cancer took 66 days.
For one in five patients the GP felt there to be an “avoidable delay”. Dr Jem Rashbass, of Public Health England, said: “One of the biggest challenges is detecting it earlier.”
Leading cancer expert Gordon McVie, of King’s College London, said: “This is a reason the UK’s survival rates are worse than most of the EU.”
Other analysis showed in 2014 the UK spent 9.1% of its GDP on healthcare, 1% below the European average.
Delays tended to occur at the specialists stage. Prof Helen StokesLampard, of the Royal College of GPs, said: “GPs have some of the worst access to diagnostic tools in Europe.”
NHS England said 2,000 more people survive every year since 2014, with 500,000 more urgent referrals.