Concerns over cancer treatment backlog due to virus

A cancer treatment backlog caused by the coronavirus pandemic could take over a decade to clear, a report suggests.

An estimated 19,500 people have not been diagnosed with cancer due to missed referrals, according to the InstituteforPublicPolicyResearch (IPPS) think tank and the CF health consultancy.

Their new study calculated that even if "stretched" hospitals could achieve five per cent more treatments and procedures than before the pandemic, it will still take until 2033 to clear the "missing patients backlog".

If that figure could be pushed up to 15% then backlogs could be cleared by next year, the report suggests.

While the number of people who need cancer treatment has not changed, the researchshowsthat–between March 2020 to February 2021:

369,000 fewer people than expected were referred to a specialist with suspected cancer.

There were 187,000 fewer chemotherapy treatments.

15,000 fewer people got radiotherapy treatments.

Dr Parth Patel, IPPR research fellow and an NHS doctor, said: "The pandemic has severely disrupted cancer services in England.

"The Government has pledged to improve cancer survival in this country, which lags far behind most similar countries. That will take investment in diagnostic kit, immediate and long-term plans to expand the workforce and bolder policy on prevention."

Baroness Delyth Morgan, chief executive of Breast Cancer Now, said: "These alarming estimates lay bare just how urgently investment in equipment, and crucially in NHS staffing, is needed to avoid a devastating decade of further disruption.”