England’s ‘fatal’ cancer treatment postcode -Lottery was today uncovered in a damn analysis that revealed where patients have to wait for months for care.
More than two -thirds (69 percent) of the patients of Royal Papworth Hospital NHS Foundation Trust in Cambridgeshire had to wait more than 62 days to start treatment for their illness after an urgent referral from their doctor in April.
This was more than double the share that waited too long for the treatment of cancer that is national.
For comparison: NHS guidelines state that 85 percent of patients should start treatments such as surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy within two months.
Senior cancer doctors said the data emphasize the ‘frightening truth’ that too many patients experienced fatal delays.
Fast treatment for cancer is considered critical, with every four weeks a patient is forced to wait, coupled with an increase in death of 10 percent.
Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust was in second place in the nation for rapid treatment of cancer, with more than half (55 percent) of the patients who have to wait at least two months.
Liverpool Women’s NHS Foundation Trust followed, 51 percent of patients and Northern Lincolnshire and Goole NHS Foundation Trust with 48 percent of patients waiting too long.
Joint Fifth were Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, the Princess Alexandra Hospital NHS Trust in Essex, University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust, Lancashire Teaching Hospitalsion Trust and Sheffield Hospitals.
A total of 47 percent of the cancer patients referred to by their doctor for signs of the disease had to wait too long to start treatment with these trusts.
Nationally, about one in three cancer patients (30.1 percent), more than 8,000 people, had to wait for two months to start the treatment.
Professor Pat Price responded to the data of the data and co-founder of the Catch Up of Cinkd Up or Counter-up of the Cancer Campaign: ‘This data is evident from the frightening truth that a third of patients who follow an urgent referral from the GPs do not receive their treatment on time.
“These fatal delays show that the government urgently needs to invest in cancer treatments.”
She added: ‘It is still the case that there is a deadly postcode lottery when it comes to cancer treatments.
“For example, in radiotherapy, despite some investments last year, about half of the cancer treatment machines for radiotherapy runs to their expiry date.”
Despite the NHS goal of 85 percent, this goal has not been since 2015.
Fast access to cancer treatment can stimulate the patient’s survival, because it reduces the chance that a tumor will increase – for which a more extensive treatment is required – or the disease that spreads to other parts of the body, a much more serious stage.
On the other side of the scale, Liverpool Heart and Chest Hospital NHS Foundation Trust registered the highest therapy compliance of the target of 96 percent of cancer patients who started treatment within two months.
This was followed by Moorfields Eye Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, who saw 92 percent of cancer patients within the 62 -day goal.
Both trusts are special hospitals, which means that they will generally see fewer cancer patients than a normal NHS trust.
The analysis was carried out by the claim line of the Medical Namen Law Firm Claim.
The company’s senior process director, Michael Blakemore-Carson, suggested that delays can be devastating for patients and possibly expensive for the NHS.
“If you have experienced a delayed treatment, you could have the right to submit a claim for compensation,” he said.
A spokesperson for a Royal Papworth Hospital NHS Foundation Trust said: We are sorry that too many cancer patients are waiting longer than should.
“We work together and with our partner hospitals to ensure that references reach us earlier, so that we can offer the very best, timely care.”
A spokesperson for NHS Humber Health Partnerships, who represents Northern Lincolnshire and Goole NHS Foundation Trust and Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, blamed the figures on rising cancer cases in the area.
“We work hard to minimize delays for our patients waiting to start their cancer treatment, and I am sorry that some people wait longer than we would like,” they said.
‘However, we see a striking growth in the number of references that our hospitals enter. To deal with this, we offer extra “one -stop” sessions at the weekend, thanks to the help of our medical, nursing and imaging staff. ‘
Stephanie Lawton, Chief Operating Officer at the Princess Alexandra Hospital NHS Trust also said that the Trust worked to reduce the waiting times for cancer patients.
“We focus on initiatives, including additional clinical triage of all patients’ references, further diagnostic and outpatient capacity, and an overview of our external paths to support patients who have to be referred to specialized centers,” she said.
“In some services we work on the diagnostic capacity of ‘one-stop’, so that patients have all their studies in one visit.”
Christine Blanshard, Chief Medical Officer for Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust, also said they were working to make improvements.
Data shows that 69 percent of Royal Papworth Hospital NHS Foundation Trust in Cambridgeshire had to wait more than 62 days to start treatment before their illness after an urgent referral from their doctor in April
“Our priority is to offer the highest possible quality of patient care, and we appreciate how difficult it is for anyone waiting for cancer treatment,” she said.
“We implement an improvement plan aimed at rapidly reducing the diagnosis of cancer and treatments.”
Kirsten Major, Chief Executive, Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust said: Reducing the time that patients wait for cancer treatment is a top priority and although we have more work to do, we have already shortened the waiting time after focused work to increase both the staff and capacity in the past year. ‘
Other NHS data show that other cancer goals are struggling to achieve the ambitions of ministers.
The government is the goal that in March 2026 80 percent of all urgent cancer references must be diagnosed or excluded within 28 days.
But the latest figures show that this was only 76.7 percent of patients in April, opposite 78.9 percent in March.
Both figures are above the current target of 75 percent of patients who are told that they have diseases or that it has excluded within this time frame.
Another target that cancer patients only have to wait a month for a decision to treat their cancer until starting that treatment was also missed.
The NHS only succeeded in treating 91.3 percent of cancer patients within 31 days. The goal is 96 percent.
Oncologists – Doctors who specialize in cancer care – have previously described the constant failure for the NHS to achieve his goals for cancer treatment as a ‘heartbreaking disaster’.
Almost 400,000 cancer cases are diagnosed every year, with nearly 170,000 deaths due to the disease registered per year.
Almost half of all British – 45 percent of men and 43 percent of women – are expected to be diagnosed with any form of cancer during their lives.
All mentioned trusts were approached by MailOnline for comment.
#thirds #cancer #patients #wait #months #start #treatment #parts #England #area