Sufferers’ long waits for cancer diagnosis
MORE than 65,000 people with suspected cancer are being left in limbo each month because the NHS is not meeting diagnosis targets, a charity claims.
The Faster Diagnosis Standard introduced in October set a target for three quarters of patients to be given a diagnosis or the all-clear within a month of an urgent referral from a GP or screening programme.
But analysis by Cancer Research UK (CRUK) found it has not yet been met nationally.
Some 74 per cent of patients got a result within a month in February – up from 64 per cent in January.
The figure was 74 per cent in October and 71 per cent in November and December.
Performance varies across England, with only 78 out of 143 hospital trusts meeting the target.
Michelle Mitchell, CRUK chief executive, said: “We should not be willing to accept that over one in four people on an urgent referral are left waiting over a month to find out whether they have cancer.” The charity said that between October and February an average of 65,400 people per month faced an anxious wait of more than four weeks.
CRUK is urging ministers to set a more ambitious target.
Professor Charles Swanton, CRUK’s chief clinician, said: “With a robust plan and sustained investment to build a cancer workforce fit for the future, we could diagnose people quicker and earlier and save more lives.”
Professor Pat Price, co-founder of the #CatchUpWithCancer campaign, said: “Too many people die needlessly because we fail to diagnose and treat them early.”
A Department of Health and Social Care spokesman said: “We are committed to reducing waiting times for cancer patients which is why we are rolling out up to 160 community diagnostic centres.”