More people are being referred to Merseyside’s hospitals for urgent cancer checks than before the pandemic – but fewer are being seen or treated within target times.
Across 10 NHS trusts serving the area, 7,617 people were seen by a specialist following an urgent GP referral for suspected cancer in April, the latest NHS figures show. That was up from 7,564 a year earlier and 6,683 in April 2019, before the pandemic caused major disruption and delays to non- Covid related hospital care across the country.
However, only 5,717 (75.1%) of the patients were seen within two weeks of being referred, which was down from 92.8% a year earlier and 90.4% in April 2019. The NHS target is for at least 93% to be seen within the time-frame.
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The NHS aims to start treating cancer patients within two months of receiving an urgent referral from their GP. In April, 309 people in Merseyside who started treatment after an urgent referral did so within two months.
That was 70.9% of the 436 patients who began treatment after such a referral, down from 79.5% in April 2019. The overall number of patients starting treatment for cancer after a diagnosis also remained below pre-pandemic levels, at 1,002 in April compared to 1,033 three years earlier.
And of those, 961 (95.9%) did so within a month of the decision to treat, which was down from 97.4% in April 2019 but broadly within the NHS target of 96%.
Performance remains below NHS targets
Cheshire & Merseyside Cancer Alliance - which is responsible for cancer performance, quality and outcomes across Cheshire and Merseyside - explained that it recognised that performance remained below the NHS targets.
Jon Hayes, Managing Director of Cheshire & Merseyside Cancer Alliance, said: "NHS trusts in Merseyside continue to perform significantly better than the national average when treating patients within two months of an urgent GP referral and within one month of a decision to treat a diagnosed cancer, although we recognise performance remains below the NHS targets.
"A new standard introduced in October 2021 focuses NHS trusts on the faster diagnosis of patients, with the aim to diagnose or rule out suspected cancer within 28 days of a referral from screening programmes, or referrals from GPs for suspected cancer or breast symptoms.
"Faster diagnosis has been stepped up with the opening of five Community Diagnostic Centres (CDCs) in Cheshire and Merseyside over the past year, to ensure patients benefit from earlier diagnostic testing closer to home and diseases are found quicker through increased capacity and productivity. Four more CDCs are in development.
"As well as this, Cheshire and Merseyside is on track to deliver its Faster Diagnosis programme, which speeds up cancer diagnosis, including for patients with non-specific symptoms, ahead of schedule. Cheshire & Merseyside Cancer Alliance is working with hospital trusts and primary care to speed up referral, assessment, testing and diagnosis through these FD pathways.
"These and other initiatives have meant that 50,000 additional diagnostic investigations were undertaken over the past year in Cheshire and Merseyside, with another 100,000 planned for 2022/2023."
Health chiefs welcome increased appointments nationally
Health experts have welcomed an increase in the volume of patients getting appointments for suspected cancer across England as a whole.
Nationally, 204,818 received urgent GP referrals in April, which was more than the 199,217 recorded during the same month of 2019.
But fewer were getting an appointment with a consultant within a fortnight, while the overall number starting treatment was down on pre-pandemic levels, as well as the proportion beginning within target times.
However, the NHS said that six trusts did not submit data, meaning that referral and treatment numbers were likely to be higher for the month. Overall, 4,495 people waited over two months to start treatment for cancer in April following an urgent GP referral, compared to 2,783 in April 2019.
The Government has pledged to return the number of people waiting less than two months for treatment following an urgent referral to pre-pandemic levels by March next year. Minesh Patel, head of policy at Macmillan Cancer Support, said the latest figures showed that some progress was still being made in getting more people with suspected cancer through the system.
He added: "However, that system is struggling to stay afloat – and without sufficient investment in the NHS cancer workforce, hardworking staff face an uphill battle to clear the cancer backlog. The forthcoming 10-Year Cancer Plan has the potential to deliver significant improvements for people living with cancer, but only if the necessary staff and resources are made available for everyone to receive quality care tailored to their needs."
A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: "Demand for the NHS is rising. We are working to tackle the Covid backlog with record investment into the NHS so patients can be seen quicker and access life-saving care. Good progress is being made on cutting waiting times with a two thirds reduction in the number of patients waiting longest for treatment since February.
"We are also adopting innovative ways of working to ensure patients have easier access to tests – and community diagnostic centres have already delivered more than a million checks and scans since last July."
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