NHS misses its two-week cancer referral target for the first time EVER

NHS misses its two-week cancer referral target for the first time EVER: Just 91% of suspected patients see a specialist within a fortnight compared to the 93% objective

• Target had never previously been missed since it was introduced in 2008
• Number of suspected patients starting treatment within 62 days also missed
• Some 82.3% of such patients fell to 80.8% from the beginning of 2018 to now
• Around 2.5 million people in the UK are living with a cancer diagnosis
• Some 430 new people in every 1,000 develop the disease annually in the US 

For the first time ever the NHS has missed its target of referring suspected cancer patients to specialists within two weeks of their consultation, new figures reveal.

Between April and June 2018, 91.4 per cent of patients who were thought to be battling the disease were seen by a specialist within 14 days.

This is 1.6 per cent under the 93 per cent target, which had not previously been missed since it was introduced in 2008.

Figures also reveal the number of suspected cancer patients who start treatment within 62 days of GP referral dropped from 82.3 per cent at the beginning of the year to 80.8 per cent; making it the 18th consecutive time this target has been missed. 

Around 2.5 million people in the UK are living with a cancer diagnosis. The disease affects approximately 430 new people in every 1,000 annually in the US.

For the first time ever the NHS has missed its target of referring 93 per cent of suspected cancer patients to specialists within two weeks of their consulation, new figures reveal (stock)

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NHS BUCKLES UNDER THE HEATWAVE 

Record numbers of patients needed emergency treatment in July 2018 following an ‘unprecedented summer surge’ during the biggest heatwave in 40 years.

Patients were left languishing on trolleys as more than 2.1 million patients flooded NHS hospitals and walk-in centres as temperatures exceeded 30(°C (86(°F).

A&E attendances for July were the highest since monthly reporting began in 2010 – up almost five per cent compared to the same period last year – while emergency admissions rose by 7.3 per cent. 

Health bosses say the NHS is in the midst of a ‘summer crisis’ with soaring temperatures leaving hospitals running at ‘boiling point all year round’.

Nick Scriven, president of the Society for Acute Medicine, said the heatwave had led to increases in attendances and admissions in those suffering from dehydration, particularly the frail elderly.

He warned the increased pressure on services was likely to be bad news for the coming winter, when trusts face their busiest time.

‘The summer months are traditionally the time acute hospitals and frontline staff have to recharge the batteries – this year we have had no respite and draining conditions,’ he said.

The surge in attendances has been blamed for worsening waiting times, with more than 4.3 million patients waiting to start treatment. 

More cancer patients starting treatment within 31 days

The report also reveals that of the patients referred by an NHS cancer screening programme, as opposed to a GP, 88.6 per cent start treatment within 62 days, which is short of the 90 per cent target.

Of those treated, 97.5 per cent begin therapy within 31 days, which is an improvement from 97.2 per cent at the beginning of the year.

Some 83.8 per cent of patients with breast-cancer symptoms are examined within two weeks, which is a decrease of 8.5 per cent from early 2018. 

Expert calls figures ‘concerning’ 

Speaking of the findings Tim Gardner, from the charity Health Foundation, told Pulse: ‘This data suggests the health service’s capacity to diagnose and treat those patients promptly has not kept pace with need and the 14 day wait target from GP referral for suspected cancer to first outpatient appointment has been missed for a whole quarter for the first time since records began in 2008/09.

‘This is concerning at a time of the year when the NHS should have some respite from winter pressures, and there is a similar picture of longer waits for emergency care and planned surgery as demand exceeds capacity.’

Two month cancer treatment targets also missed 

Figures released earlier this month show it is not just two-week targets that are being missed but also two-month ones.

Only 79.2 per cent of patients in England started treatment within two months of being urgently referred by their GP, data shows.

This means the target of 85 per cent of patients starting treatment within 62 days was once again breached in June – the 30th month in a row.

Since the target was first breached in January 2014, around 107,000 people have waited more than two months for treatment to start.  

Macmillan Cancer Support’s director of policy Moira Fraser branded the figures ‘unacceptable’.

She said: ‘[The] announcement marks two and a half years of continuously missed key cancer waiting times.

‘This milestone is a bleak reflection of the pressures felt across all aspects of cancer care in the NHS.

‘It mustn’t be forgotten at the heart of these figures are thousands of cancer patients and their families having their lives put on hold for months on end as a result.’

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