Cancer toll surges in wake of pandemic
Hundreds more than expected dying each week after missed diagnoses during Covid
THE cost of the pandemic for cancer sufferers is emerging, experts fear, as figures show that hundreds more people than expected are now dying each month in England from the disease.
Charities and health experts are calling on the Government to take action, warning that missed diagnoses during lockdown may be a factor and that the problem is being compounded by the NHS crisis.
Since the beginning of September, there have been nearly 900 more deaths in people with cancer than would be expected at this time of year, the most recent breakdown of causes of death from the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities (OHID) shows. There were nearly 230 extra deaths in the worst week.
Deaths involving heart complaints or diabetes have been on the increase since the spring, but it is only in recent weeks that the numbers dying from cancer have been above the five-year norm. It comes as the Prime Minister has made addressing the health service crisis one of his top priorities, along with the cost of living and the surge in migrants crossing the Channel in small boats.
It is set to dominate the political agenda as winter pressures mount on the NHS. Waiting lists are already at a record high, with a backlog of 7.1 million patients, and the numbers are set to keep rising until at least 2024.
Yesterday, Steve Barclay, the Health Secretary, admitted on BBC’S Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg that the health service was under “severe pressure”.
He has promised to cut red tape and centralised targets to give local hospitals more power, to ensure the extra £3.3 billion pledged for the NHS in the Autumn Statement last week is spent on front-line services rather than being soaked up by bureaucrats.
The Daily Telegraph can reveal that half of NHS England staff face the sack under the plans. Ministers want to slash the budget for the organisation’s 6,500 bureaucrats by as much as 50 per cent.
The overhaul is set to be outlined in an NHS review ordered by Jeremy Hunt, the Chancellor, and Mr Barclay to find ways to give local hospitals more power, reduce “Stalinist” central targets and make them more accountable.
A Government source said Mr Barclay wants to ensure that funds are properly invested to fix the NHS “rather than being squandered on ever-expanding layers of management”.
The NHS is currently using hundreds of centralised measurements to track performance, including no less than 72 indicators for GPS. Mr Hunt wants to slash the number to just a “handful” of national performance measures.
Latest figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show that there were 1,517 excess deaths in the week ending Nov 4, of which only 27 per cent (418) were due to Covid.
NHS data has shown that 38,000 fewer patients received a cancer diagnosis in England during 2020 – a 12 percent drop on the previous year.
Analysis suggests that at least 22,000 fewer patients have undergone cancer treatment than would have been expected since the start of the pandemic. The total number of urgent referrals for cancer has also hit new highs this summer, with more than 255,000 cases in August – up from 190,369 in February 2020.
Prof Pat Price, the chairman of Radiotherapy UK and co-founder of the #Catchupwithcancer campaign, has urged Mr Barclay to intervene.
She said: “The tragic reality is that the cancer backlog is the deadliest and most time-pressing of all and failure to tackle it will be measured in excess cancer deaths for years to come. There is frustration to the point of despair amongst my clinical colleagues because it doesn’t need to be this way.”
Many patients failed to come forward
during the pandemic for fear of being a burden on the NHS, while others were unable to access services as the health service turned its attention to Covid.
Dr Charles Levison, the chief executive of private GP Doctorcall, said: “Clearly tens of thousands of people missing their cancer diagnosis was always going to result in excess deaths – I worry this is now starting to show.’
“We’ve had several patients who delayed for a variety of reasons during lockdown. That led to a more advanced stage of cancer developing, with the associated complications. Worsened outcomes are inevitable and tragically that will result in fatalities.”
The UK has some of the worst cancer survival rates in Europe and Cancer Research UK has warned that Britain’s position among developed countries could get even worse. Dr Katrina Brown, the charity’s statistics manager, said: “We are facing the possibility that cancer survival could go backwards.”
This week, GPS were told to fast-track cancer patients so they will receive a scan within four weeks rather than waiting 12 weeks to see a specialist before a referral.
But oncologist Karol Sikora described the backlog of cancer treatment and missed diagnoses as a “total catastrophe”. He said: “Even our treatment targets, which are continually missed, are seen as woefully inadequate in neighbouring countries. Immeasurable more suffering is to come – where is the Government press conference on this?”
The Health Foundation believes that while the increase to the NHS budget provides “temporary respite”, health services will face “difficult trade-offs” on issues such as pay and the backlog.
Anita Charlesworth, director of the foundation, said: “Thursday’s statement offered short-term relief, especially
‘Immeasurable more suffering is to come – where is the Government press conference on this?’
compared with other public services.
“The reality is that the NHS is going to be treading water at best, as inflation bites and it faces rising pressures from an ageing population, pay, addressing the backlog and ongoing Covid costs.
She added: “Without greater recognition that our health is our wealth – and vice versa – and a greater focus on its long-term financial sustainability, the NHS is likely to remain on a crisis footing, with difficult trade-offs like performance and rising waiting lists for the foreseeable future.”