Cancer patients ‘struggling to find support from over-stretched NHS’

CANCER PATIENTS who are at “breaking point” feel that they cannot ask questions to the overstretched doctors and nurses caring for them, a major health charity has warned.

Macmillan Cancer Support said it had received more than 240,000 inquiries to its support line in 2019, with staff reporting that many people phone up in distress feeling they cannot ask questions of the health workers tasked with caring for them.

Lynda Thomas, chief executive at Macmillan Cancer Support, said the increased demand showed “there simply aren’t enough” NHS staff to meet the needs of the growing number of people diagnosed with cancer.

“We’re incredibly proud of the service our support line provides, but it’s heart-rending that so many people call at breaking point having struggled to find the support they need from their healthcare team who we know are run-ragged and doing the best they can,” she said. “The newly-formed government must urgently deliver on its promises to prioritise a fully-funded plan for our NHS workforce so that everyone living with cancer can receive the very best care and support they need.”

The top reason callers contacted Macmillan in 2019 was for emotional support, the charity said, with 8,011 people calling with issues such as anxiety, fear and depression. This was a rise of 20 per cent from 6,661 callers asking for emotional support the previous year.

For more than 5,000 people, issues with accessing hospital or community care were the main reason they called. As of December 19, the Macmillan Support Line has received 241,234 inquiries through its channels, 219,378 of which were phone calls.