Charity received no Covid cash for cancer research
BRITAIN’S leading cancer charity says it did not receive any government money to support its life-saving work during the Covid crisis – despite forecasting a £300million loss.
The impact of the pandemic on Cancer Research UK and its vital work has been catastrophic.
Covid dealt a hammer blow to its finances, with £100million less ploughed into critical research projects. Some 25 per cent of its staff were axed during the crisis.
It came as a national cancer emergency saw 55,000 fewer people treated during the pandemic, with the fallout expected to be felt for decades to come.
The charity’s boss is today demanding an end to the precarious state of investment in research, screening, diagnosis and treatment.
Chief executive Michelle Mitchell said: “This significant drop in income has undoubtedly affected our ability to save lives because we were unable to invest in the very best research to the extent we wanted.
“We have been at the forefront of cutting edge research for decades and it is the only way we will beat these diseases, but we didn’t receive any help.
“We called on the Government to assist so our situation didn’t impact research. I am disappointed that the call was not supported.
“Pre-Covid we already had poor outcomes for cancer survival compared with other countries and there is now the very real possibility it will actually go backwards. Just last week [Health Secretary] Sajid Javid declared a ‘war on cancer’ to tackle this issue, and the ambition is welcome.
“We need to see a renewed drive on cancer, to rebuild services and transform for the future.
“During Covid many people didn’t come forward with signs and symptoms and that in part is due to the reticence of the British public.
“But it is also because many people took the message, ‘Stay at home, save lives and protect the NHS’ far too literally. The big challenge we face is how do we improve cancer survival in this country? And the bottom line is that research is the way out of this, because research saves lives. We absolutely have to address our research budget.”
Estimates suggest Covid has so far cost the British taxpayer £410billion, roughly £6,100 per person.
Cancer Research UK made use of the furlough scheme but the charity, which finances 50 per cent of all publicly funded cancer research in Britain, received no other bailout.
The pandemic saw almost every funding stream severed, forcing it to temporarily close shops and halt mass events, like the Race For Life fundraisers.
It expected to see a reduction in income of £300million by 2023 but has now revised that to £250million. But the charity fears the far-reaching consequences of halting vital clinical trials could be felt by millions for years to come.
In the year before Covid struck, some 67,057 people were recruited to life-saving research projects.
But this figure fell to 27,734 in 2021 at the height of the
pandemic.