BBC Report
IP Research by the Institute for Public Policy Research has estimated 19,500 people who should have been diagnosed with Cancer had not been, because of missed referrals which have dropped by nearly 370,000 on the year before, a fall of 15% since March 2020.
It estimates the proportion of cancers diagnosed while they are still highly curable (stage 1 and 2- has fallen from 44% before to pandemic to 41%. This leaves many more for whom it will now be too late to cure their cancer.
PR research fellow Dr Parth Patel said: “The pandemic has severely disrupted cancer services in England, undoing years of progress in improving cancer survival rates.
“Now, the health service faces an enormous backlog of care, that threatens to disrupt services for well over a decade.” We know every delay poses risks to patients’ chances of survival. “Clearing the cancer care backlog before the next general election looks unlikely with the way the NHS is currently resourced, staffed and organised.”
Further Reading
BBC – Cancer Backlog could take a decade to clear
