Over 65,000 people every month wait ‘too long’ for cancer diagnosis in England

There are approximately 65,400 people every month in England waiting “too long” to find out their cancer diagnosis, new analysis from Cancer Research UK has found.

A new target introduced last year said people should be diagnosed or have cancer ruled out within 28 days of an urgent referral by their GP, referral for breast symptoms, or if symptoms have been picked up through screening.

While the aim is for 75 per cent to receive their diagnosis within a month, Cancer Research UK says this target has not been met since it was introduced.

It added that, even if the 75 per cent target is met, this would still leave 55,000 people each month waiting to hear whether or not they had the disease.

The data also found that just 78 out of 143 hospital trusts in England met the 75 per cent standard.

The charity says people are “being failed” by the system and that it “lacks the capacity to deal with the numbers needing to be seen”. It added that targets were set too low due to chronic specialist shortages across the NHS.

Michelle Mitchell, the charity’s chief executive, said: “As a country we should not be willing to accept that over one in four people on an urgent referral are left waiting over a month to find out whether they have cancer. Nor should we stand for the variation that exists across the country.

“The government must take this opportunity to deliver for the millions of people affected by cancer. With ambitious targets, a credible plan to reach them and clear accountability, we can get there.”

Early diagnosis of cancer allows treatment to start more quickly, but the charity says England “lags behind” comparable countries in early diagnosis.

Approximately 375,400 people are diagnosed with cancer in the UK each year, more than 1,000 people per day.

A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: “We are committed to reducing waiting times for cancer patients which is why we are rolling out up to 160 community diagnostic centres across the country – with 81 already open and over 800,000 additional scans delivered.

“Our record investment in the NHS includes an extra £2bn last year and £8bn over the next three years to cut waiting times, including delivering an extra nine million checks, scans and operations by 2025 as part of plans to tackle the Covid backlog and deliver long-term recovery and reform.”

A spokesperson from NHS England said: “Record numbers of people have received lifesaving cancer checks in the last year as we continue to recover from the impact of the pandemic, and while it won’t happen overnight, the NHS is investing billions in extra diagnostic and treatment capacity – with staff working hard to roll out initiatives from lung-scanning trucks to cancer symptom hotlines, so that patients are seen quickly and their cancer can be caught earlier.

“It is vital that people continue to come forward if they have any worrying signs or symptoms, as getting checked could save your life.”

Additional reporting by PA