Shadow Health Secretary Wes Streeting has revealed he is one of a million patients waiting for vital scans and tests after being diagnosed with cancer.
The 39-year-old MP had been diagnosed with kidney cancer and had the organ removed last May but has still not had his six-month post-op scan to check if it was successful.
The scan was due last November.
The shadow cabinet rising star tomorrow warns of the danger of record cancer delays and accuses the Government of “dismantling the roof and removing the floorboards” of the NHS before the pandemic.
The former head of the National Union of Students who has been an MP since 2015 was diagnosed last year just days after Labour Leader Keir Starmer moved him into the shadow cabinet as shadow child poverty secretary.
Writing in the Mirror, he says: “I was out knocking on doors with a team of Labour activists moments after receiving the phone call from my consultant, giving me the diagnosis.
“I had my operation in May. Because of restrictions I went into hospital alone and my partner and family couldn’t visit me. I have never felt as lonely as I did for those days.
“It’s why the Prime Minister’s parties in Downing Street make me so angry. We all made huge sacrifices during these past two years, while he acted as if there’s one rule for him and another rule for the rest of us.
“I owe the NHS my life. But I could see the pressures it’s facing. We’ve got six million people in England waiting for care and over one million waiting for tests and scans. I’m one of them.
“I was meant to have a post-operation scan six months on to check the cancer hasn’t returned. I’ve only just been given the appointment and by the time I have the scan it will be three months late.
“I’m low risk, but I’m worried these delays are becoming the norm. Patients with suspected cancer are waiting longer and longer to get diagnosed.”
The NHS has a record six million waiting list and around a million of these appointments are for tests and scans.
NHS data shows a record low of only two-thirds of cancer patients with an urgent referral from their GP receive care within two months. The NHS target is 85%.
Half of women with suspected breast cancer are waiting more than the NHS’s two-week target to see a specialist.
Overall 77.4% of people saw a specialist within two weeks of an urgent referral from their GP for suspected cancer, the lowest figure on record.
Macmillan Cancer Support estimates that there are currently 50,000 missing cancer patients, with an additional 24,000 starting treatment too late.
Nick Turkentine, chief executive of Kidney Cancer UK said: “We are very sorry to hear of the delays Mr Streeting is encountering regarding his follow up scan.
“Patients have been in his situation for many years with hospitals often failing to schedule both scan and consultant appointments effectively, including cancelling at short, or no, notice.
“Our surveys found that over 25% of patients waited 6-weeks or longer for their scan results which is unacceptable.
“The key to a successful outcome with kidney cancer is to have early diagnosis and a clear treatment pathway.
“We wish Mr Streeting and all in his position the best with their journey.”
'I owe the NHS my life'
By Wes Streeting
Going through treatment for kidney cancer showed me just how much strain our NHS is under.
I was lucky. I went into hospital for a kidney stone and the scans picked up the cancer early.
My instinct was to put it out of my mind and get on with my life as planned. It was during the local election campaign last year. I was out knocking on doors with a team of Labour activists moments after receiving the phone call from my consultant, giving me the diagnosis.
I had my operation in May. Because of restrictions I went into hospital alone and my partner and family couldn’t visit me. I have never felt as lonely as I did for those days.
It’s why the Prime Minister’s parties in Downing Street make me so angry. We all made huge sacrifices during these past two years, while he acted as if there’s one rule for him and another rule for the rest of us.
I owe the NHS my life. But I could see the pressures its facing. We’ve got 6 million people in England waiting for care and over 1 million waiting for cancer tests and scans. I’m one of them.
I was meant to have a post-operation scan six months on to check the cancer hasn’t returned. I’ve only just been given the appointment and by the time I have the scan it will be three months late.
I’m low risk, but I’m worried these delays are becoming the norm. Patients with suspected cancer are waiting longer and longer to get diagnosed, left for months with the insecurity of not knowing.
Shockingly, just half of patients with suspected breast cancer are now being seen by a specialist within the two-week target. When I asked the Health Secretary about this, he denied breast cancer had been deprioritised but couldn’t explain why patients are waiting so much longer.
The pandemic asked a huge amount of the NHS and staff have been through so much. But the truth is that there were record NHS waiting lists, 100,000 staff shortages, and 112,000 vacancies in social care before Covid, thanks to a decade of Tory mismanagement and underfunding.
It’s not that the Conservatives didn’t fix the roof while the sun was shining, they dismantled the roof and removed the floorboards.
Labour will secure the NHS with the staff and modern technology it needs to get cancer patients diagnosed and treated on time, just as the last Labour government did.
