NHS doubles wait time for cancer patients
6 Min Read
Cancer patients will now have to wait two extra weeks to get their diagnosis, exacerbating their suffering.
-
A 2022 picture representing how the NHS had started cancer treatment for about 7,000 more people every month compared to 10 years ago. (AP)
In accordance with government suggestions that are due this week, patients with suspected cancer may have to wait longer to receive a diagnosis.
The goal that all patients should see a specialist within two weeks of an urgent GP referral for cancer diagnostics is set to be dropped, according to NHS England's proposals to streamline cancer targets.
Ministers have held consultations over the ideas to reduce the number of cancer goals from nine to just three.
A new "faster diagnosis standard" mandates that seventy-five percent of patients receive a diagnosis or be informed that they do not have cancer within 28 days. Within 62 days of the referral date or 31 days following the decision to treat after a diagnosis, patients should begin their first course of treatment.
This standard would take the place of the nine current cancer targets, which include the two-week wait between a GP referral and the first consultant appointment. The one-month wait for care follows a decision to offer cancer treatment options like chemo, radio, and operation, while the two-month wait happens between an urgent GP referral and the start of cancer treatment.
Only 59% of patients in England began their first cancer therapy within two months of an urgent GP referral, falling far short of the 85% objective, according to the most recent data. In addition, only 62% of patients were seen within two months of receiving a positive cancer screening test result, which is lower than the 90% goal.
The NHS emphasized that the current two-week aim did not establish expectations for when patients should obtain test results or have a confirmed diagnosis when a consultation on the plans started last year.
Pat Price, a visiting oncology professor at Imperial College London and co-founder of the Catch Up with Cancer campaign, spoke on BBC Radio 4’s Today program and accused ministers and NHS leaders of "fiddling around" in the midst of an NHS crisis and of watering down the targets.
"Changing the targets won’t help patients, unless we can treat patients better and quicker. And that means now increasing treatment capacity," she said.
Read: Senior doctors in England hold first walkout in decade
In a one-stop clinic, 93% of women are supposed to be seen within two weeks for breast cancer, but now 74% of women are.
"The target we think is only going to be 75% in 28 days – that’s actually worse. Is it really the best that government and senior NHS leaders can do is fiddle around with targets in the middle of this crisis?" Price asked.
According to the BBC, the results of the survey should be made public within a few days, and the health secretary, Steve Barclay, must give his final permission before the reforms can be put into effect.
On the Today program, Barclay stated that the recommendations were what the industry desired and were intended to improve results.
"Any changes will be those where it’s been requested by clinical specialists within the cancer field and would be done in consultation with the leading cancer charities. The consultation has been about working with consultants, clinical leaders, as to what drives the best outcomes, what is the way of getting the best survival rates," he said, adding that there had been a 28% increase in urgent GP referrals for suspicious cancer cases.
"These proposals were put forward by leading cancer experts and have the support of cancer charities and clinicians. By making sure more patients are diagnosed and treated as early as possible following a referral and replacing the outdated two-week wait target with the faster diagnosis standard already being used across the country, hundreds of patients waiting to have cancer ruled out or diagnosed could receive this news faster," Prof Sir Stephen Powis, the NHS national medical director, said, adding that "the proposals will also remove the need for unnecessary outpatient appointments in order to comply with waiting times rules, allowing more patients to be referred ‘straight to test’ and the wider deployment of diagnostic technologies including artificial intelligence."
Simplifying the targets will facilitate care delivery for cancer teams; however, it should be noted that targets are not a miracle cure, Dr. Tom Roques, a vice-president of the Royal College of Radiologists, said.
"It’s important to remember that the targets are just a tool to try and improve care – the targets achieve nothing on their own. And the real need is investment in workforce, in newer ways of working, so we can improve the situation on the ground, which I think if you ask any cancer team is just not good enough at the moment for the patients," he said.
"I think one of the problems that we have with targets as a whole is that they often focus on the process rather than the outcomes that are important to patients. So if you look at the old two-week target to see a doctor, you may not need to see a doctor to be diagnosed or not diagnosed with cancer, you may need teledermatology to assess your skin lesion and tell you whether it’s cancer or not. You may need to have an endoscopy test to quickly look and see whether you’ve got bowel cancer, and an artificial focus on ‘you must see a doctor by 14 days’ may not be the best way to get patients quickly through the system."
Wes Streeting, the shadow health secretary, said, "The Conservatives have created a crisis in cancer care, leaving patients waiting dangerously long. Having missed the targets, they are now cynically moving the goalposts."
"Rishi Sunak should focus on cutting waiting times, not cutting standards for patients. If he hasn’t got a plan to bring down cancer waits, then what is the point of him? Labour will get cancer patients diagnosed and treated on time again, by training the doctors and nurses the NHS needs, and reforming the service to make it fit for the future."
Read: England's health service braces for 'catastrophic' doctors' strike
