A record 3 million people referred for cancer checks

A RECORD-BREAKING three million people were referred for cancer checks over the past year, NHS England has said, amid warnings that “chronic” understaffing is leaving patients at risk.

The number of patients receiving treatment for the disease has also risen, by 2,000 since the start of the pandemic, according to the health service.

Referrals for suspected cancer remained at around 116 per cent of prepandemic levels, even during the peak of the omicron wave, and rose overall from 2.4million to 3million, according to data from NHS England and NHS Improvement.

Around 315,000 patients started treatment this year compared to 313,000 before Covid-19 struck, they added.

Dame Cally Palmer, national cancer director for NHS England, said there were still 30,000 people who have not yet started treatment because of the pandemic.

Charities welcomed the increase in referrals but warned of the “devastating” impact of the pandemic on cancer care, and urged the Government to tackle the “chronic” problem of NHS understaffing in its 10-Year Cancer Plan.

Minesh Patel, head of policy at Macmillan Cancer Support, said: “It is reassuring to see record numbers of people coming forward with cancer symptoms for these life-saving checks. However, people living with cancer are often missing out on crucial care as a result of chronic NHS understaffing. To avoid putting further pressure on doctors and nurses, it’s vital the Government includes steps in the upcoming 10-Year Cancer Plan to grow the number of cancer professionals so people with cancer receive the quality and timely care they desperately need.”

In order to meet the increasing demand for cancer checks, the NHS said it has expanded its services’ diagnostic capabilities across the country. Facilities such as one-stop shops for tests, mobile clinics and cancer symptom hotlines are helping to ensure people are diagnosed and treated as early as possible, the health service said.

Dame Cally said: “We are going further and faster than ever before in our ambitions to diagnose more cancers at an earlier stage.

“We have seen record numbers coming forward for checks in the last year, but we know there are at least 30,000 who haven’t started treatment due to the pandemic, so it’s vital that we keep these referral rates high.”

Sajid Javid, the Health Secretary, said: “We need to go beyond business as usual which is why we are rolling out new surgical hubs and up to 160 community diagnostic centres offering millions more scans, checks and operations as soon as possible – with over 770,000 additional tests delivered already.”