Cancer care backlog ‘a national emergency’
● Grandmother refused treatment in Scotland sent to London for operation
The daughter of a cancer patient who will have to travel to London for a vital operation after being told she cannot have it in Glasgow has said she is concerned how many other women have just accepted the “unbelievable situation”.
Julie Goedkoop, 44, from Uddingston, raised concerns after her 69-year-old mother Mary Hudson was told her ovarian cancer, which was diagnosed as having returned ten weeks ago, could not be treated at Glasgow Royal Infirmary.
The family claim she was told the hospital was only able to deal with patients who had received their first cancer diagnosis, but Mrs Hudson has previously had breast cancer as well as an operation for ovarian cancer 18 months ago.
The case of the grandmother-offour from Springboig in Glasgow was raised in the BBC leader’s debate election special on Tuesday night by Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar, who said the cancer waiting times backlog was now a “national emergency”.
Mrs Hudson was offered a diluted form of chemotherapy as treatment, but after a recommendation from her oncologist she will travel to London’s NHS Hammersmith hospital for the operation.
However NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, which operates the GRI said that the operation Mrs Hudson requires has never been offered at their hospital.
Ms Goedkoop said: "We were absolutely determined to ensure mum receives surgery. But it’s unbelievable that she has to travel all the way to London for it.
“We are raising her case so that we can help others in the same situation. How many women have been told they can’t have an operation and have just said OK?”
New figures show that in the final three months of last year, 485 people waited longer than two months to start their cancer treatment, despite being urgently referred, while an estimated 7,000 people are believed to be living with undiagnosed cancer as a result of the pandemic’s impact on cancer services.
Mr Sarwar said: “The backlog for cancer treatment in Scotland is now a national emergency.
“There are thousands of missing patients and there needs to be an urgent plan to address this crisis, including rapid diagnostic centres and a catch-up plan for screenings by increasing staff and processing capacity to clear the backlog within a year.
“It is a scandal that patients like Mary are having to travel hundreds of miles for surgery, and my thoughts are with her and her family. "We have no idea how many other families are going through similar
trauma. "The pandemic has had a devastating impact on cancer services, but the problems were there before Covid struck.
"The SNP has not met the waiting time standard for urgent referrals for nearly a decade.
"The next Parliament must be fully focused on a national recovery plan for our NHS so that we never again have to choose between treating a virus or treating cancer."
Health Secretary Jeane Freeman said: "A diagnosis of cancer is a deeply painful and worrying time for individuals and their families.
"That's why we prioritised cancer care as part of the recovery from the pandemic so that cancer patients have and will continue to receive treatment.
"Unlike Labour, rather than just talking about how we restore our NHS the SNP is already taking action.
"Our established cancer recovery plan, backed by £114.5 million, will ensure cancer patients continue to have equitable access to care in Scotland, regardless of where they live."
A spokesman for the Scottish Government said: "Cancer services can often involve specialist care or treatment, which may not be available at each cancer centre across the country.
"The Scottish Government are absolutely committed to cancer patients being treated as close to home as is clinically appropriate.
"In a very small number of cases, some highly specialist services may be delivered outwith Scotland, and patients should be fully supported in accessing this."
During the debate, Nicola Sturgeon agreed Mrs Hudson’s case was not acceptable and said the government had begun NHS remobilisation plans to tackle cancer treatment backlogs.
She also pledged if re-elected she would “aim to pilot three fast track cancer diagnostic centres from this summer” with a £3 million investment, “followed by full roll-out to every health board area by the end of the Parliament”.
A spokesperson for NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde said they were sorry the family were concerned about Mary Hudson’s planned cancer treatment and added: “We are following the National Cancer Recovery Group’s guidance and the majority of cancer treatment has continued throughout the pandemic.”
The health board also said that the particular surgery needed was only available in London “because, until recently, clinical evidence suggested that there were alternative, more suitable, approaches so it has not been developed as a service in NHSGGC to date.”
Meanwhile, the Scottish Liberal Democrats campaigned on the need for urgent action with cross-party backing to prevent violence against women and girls. Willie Rennie set out his party's equalities policies as he visited the Hindu Mandir in Edinburgh. The party wants to see a commission on tackling violence against women set up as a priority in the next parliament. It is also calling for a ban on sexual and gender conversion therapies as well as a pay audit of all public organisations to assess the experiences of ethnic minority and disabled employees. Mr Rennie said: "When I'm out running up hills before dawn or canvassing in the evening, I rarely have to fear for my safety. "That should be the experience for everyone but it's not. "It is horrifically clear that many women don't have the same privilege. "The murder of Sarah Everard and the conversations that have followed have shone a light on this. "It is why a priority in the next parliament needs to be a commission on violence against women and girls with cross-party backing. "Inequalities like these prevent people from living their lives to the full, and are corrosive to society as a whole." He continued: "Scottish Liberal Democrats will tackle the insidious barriers that stop people achieving their full potential. "We need to ensure that the recovery from the pandemic doesn't just mean going back to how things were before. "That's why we're presenting a series of proposals to make Scotland a better place for women, for disabled people, for the young and old, for LGBT+ people and for people from ethnic minority backgrounds."
And the Electoral Commission rejected two Tory slogans stating opposition to another independence referendum for use on ballot papers.
The Conservative and Unionist party submitted applications for the slogans "End Division, No Referendum, Rebuild Scotland" and "Not Another Referendum, Time for Recovery", but had both rejected.