Delayed treatment for non-virus patients will prove lethal

Victoria Ward

Jessica Carpani PATIENTS with cancer and others with chronic illnesses are being handed a “death sentence” as resources are increasingly diverted to treat coronavirus, sufferers have warned.

Experts fear thousands could die because of delays in treatment and screening as clinicians come under rising pressure to deal with the deluge of patients infected with Covid-19.

A reduction in operating theatre space and fewer available beds in intensive care mean scores of people are having vital surgery postponed, prompting warnings they could become the hidden victims of the crisis.

Appointments and operations have been cancelled in areas ranging from paediatrics to cardiology, as well as mental health services.

Beverley Reekes, 59, from Buckinghamshire, said her 66-year-old aunt, who was diagnosed with non-hodgkin’s lymphoma two years ago, had been undergoing gruelling treatment to keep the disease at bay.

She was accepted for experimental CAR-T therapy at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham but although her T cells were harvested about three weeks ago, the next phase of the treatment has been cancelled because of a lack of intensive care beds.

Mrs Reekes said: “Her only option now is palliative care; she has been given a death sentence.

“There is a great injustice here, it’s just absolutely dreadful. People are having their lives taken away.”

Bradley Pugh has begged for help after his father’s bowel cancer surgery at a Leeds hospital was cancelled due to a lack of beds. “This is a man who’s worked really hard all his life, paid his taxes,” he said.

“He had been due to have the emergency operation before Christmas but it never happened. Now, we’ve been told it is too risky for him to go into hospital.”

Tenovus Cancer Care in Wales warned that hundreds of lives could be lost there alone and called for a “clear plan” for cancer care.

Judi Rhys, the chief executive, said: “It is important that cancer patients and

their needs are not forgotten about during this time.”

Cardiology patients have expressed disappointment that long-awaited appointments have been cancelled or postponed.

Dr Asif Qasim, a consultant cardiologist at Kings College Hospital and Croydon University Hospital, warned that for many the consequences could be fatal.

“For a 70-year old with a myocardial infarction [heart attack], the risk without treatment of passing away is higher than the risk of passing away with coronavirus,” Dr Qasim said.

There might well be a spike in deaths unrelated to coronavirus, he added, but the statistics would be difficult to extrapolate.

A source close to the Department of Health said: “Brutally, we think it’s possible that more people will die from delays to treatment, especially cancer treatment, than the coronavirus.”