Concern over rise in ‘long waiters’ for cancer care

Experts found that the proportion of cancer patients waiting at least 104 days to begin cancer treatment following an urgent suspected cancer referral in England has almost tripled in just five years – from 4.1% in 2017/18 to 11.6% in the first three months of the 2022/23 financial year.

Some 85% of patients should start their first treatment within 62 days of an urgent GP referral for suspected cancer, according to NHS targets.

But Cancer Research UK said that between January to May 2024, some 9,964 cancer patients waited more than 104 days to begin treatment.

Experts conducted a deep dive into cancer treatment delays.

Among the long waiters, a significant proportion of delays occurred because of “healthcare provider-initiated delays” – such as equipment breakdown; capacity issues and administrative delays, according to the research team from Cancer Research UK and the National Disease Registration Service.

In the first three months of the 2022/23 financial year, “healthcare provider-initiated delays” were behind half (46.9%) of delays for long-waiters.

“This indicates that a large number of these delays are potentially not medically warranted but due to health system issues including limited capacity,” the authors of the report said.

Cancer Research UK urged the Government to provide the NHS with the equipment and staff it “desperately needs to diagnose and treat patients on time”.

Experts also looked at the people who were more likely to face long delays.

They also found that people with lower gastrointestinal cancers, including bowel cancer, were more likely to face long waits compared to people with other cancers.

People aged between 60 and 69 were more likely to face longer waits compared to other age groups.

And those from poorer neighbourhoods were also more likely to face delays, as were people with at least one other long-term health condition.

Dr John Butler, clinical advisor for Cancer Research UK, said: “Every day, cancer surgeons across the UK are seeing patients who have had to wait longer than they should to be diagnosed and treated.

“The NHS is treating more patients than ever before, which is fantastic, but we want to be doing more – and capacity is what’s stopping us.

“Our health service’s ability to diagnose and treat cancer patients is limited and the resources and staffing have simply not increased to meet the need.

“This problem with capacity – not having enough beds, equipment or staff – started before the pandemic, and it could get worse.

“The UK’s ageing and growing population means that by 2040, there could be around half a million new cancer cases diagnosed every year. Unless we urgently start planning for this, the NHS won’t be prepared to cope.”

Michelle Mitchell, Cancer Research UK’s chief executive, said: “NHS staff are doing their best, but these figures are concerning.

“It’s positive that more patients are being treated than ever, and people are finding out if they have cancer or not faster. However, too many patients are still waiting too long to begin cancer treatment, and this report highlights how far there still is to go.

“A long-term cancer strategy is needed to deliver on their commitment to bring cancer waiting times down, by providing our NHS with the equipment and staff it desperately needs to diagnose and treat patients on time.”

An NHS England spokesperson said: “While we know there is more to do to bring down unacceptably long waits for patients, staff are working hard to see and treat more people with cancer than ever before, delivering over 55,000 cancer treatments in May – with more than nine in 10 happening within one month and more people seen after a GP referral than any other month on record.

“The NHS also met the 28-day cancer faster diagnosis target in May with more than three quarters of people receiving a definitive diagnosis or all clear within four weeks – and while this is encouraging, we recognise more work is needed to tackle the challenges faced by cancer services and ensure all patients receive high-quality and timely care.”

A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: “Too many cancer patients are waiting too long for treatment. We are determined to change that. That’s why our mission to get the NHS back on its feet includes taking measures such as doubling the number of MRI and CT scanners to help speed up diagnosis and treatment.

“Alongside this, we have commissioned an independent investigation, led by Professor Lord Darzi, into the extent of the issues the NHS faces.”