NHS fails to hit cancer targets as waiting lists pledge delayed
The Government has missed its own cancer treatment targets, causing a further headache for Rishi Sunak and his pledge to reduce NHS waiting lists in England.
The latest figures from NHS England showed that 10,000 cancer patients in January waited longer than two months to start treatment, meaning that only 62 per cent were seen within the 62-day target.
The Prime Minister pledged to improve performance to 70 per cent by this month. But an update from NHS England yesterday showed this has now been delayed by a year, to March 2025.
NHS figures also showed that 92,000 patients had been waiting more than 65 weeks for elective care, such as knee and hip operations. Mr Sunak had promised to eliminate waits of over 65 weeks for elective care by March, but this deadline has now been pushed back to September.
It means the Government has missed all its targets to slim down waiting lists, with cancer treatment a particular concern.
Almost all women with breast cancer survive their disease for five years or more if diagnosed at the earliest stage, according to Cancer Research. This falls to around three in 10 when it is diagnosed and treated at the most advanced stage.
Meanwhile, more than nine in 10 people with bowel cancer survive their disease for five years or more, if diagnosed at the earliest stage. This falls to one in 10 people at the most advanced stage.
The total number of people on NHS England’s waiting lists is now 7.61 million, a slight fall on the previous month but up from 7.19 million when Mr Sunak made his pledge to reduce the backlog last year.
The Prime Minister admitted last month that “we have not made enough progress” in his promise to cut healthcare waiting lists. Asked during an interview with Piers Morgan on TalkTV if that meant he had failed to deliver his promise, Mr Sunak replied: “Yes, we have.”
Ministers have blamed strike action for stalling progress, with Mr Sunak insisting “industrial action has had an impact”.
Junior doctors in England last week voted overwhelmingly to keep on striking until the middle of September in their long-running pay dispute, bringing a new wave of disruption to the NHS.
Members of the British Medical Association (BMA) voted to launch further strike action in addition to the 41 days of walkouts held since March last year, with 98 per cent supporting further strikes on a turnout of 62 per cent.
Wes Streeting, the shadow Health Secretary, said: “Every minute matters when it comes to cancer, but Rishi Sunak has failed cancer patients, who are left waiting dangerously long with terrible consequences.”
A survey published on Wednesday showed that satisfaction with the NHS was at a historic low, with only a quarter of the British public believing the health service is working.