People with suspected cancer in England are facing a higher risk of “worrying” outcomes owing to unacceptable delays in being referred to hospital, experts have said, as figures show seven in 10 NHS trusts are failing to hit a key target.
The number of NHS trusts missing the national target for urgent cancer referrals is the highest it has been for at least three years, according to analysis of NHS data.
In England, the maximum waiting time for a hospital appointment for suspected cancer is two weeks from the day the hospital receives a referral letter from a GP. At least 93% of patients should be seen within 14 days, according to the NHS.
But analysis by the PA news agency, using data from August 2019 to August 2022, shows this target is routinely being missed, putting patients at greater risk of poor outcomes.
Minesh Patel, the head of policy at Macmillan Cancer Support, said: “There are huge pressures even at that early stage of the cancer pathway, let alone when you get to treatment, and it is really worrying for somebody’s prognosis.
“If somebody starts treatment later, the more worrying the outcome could be in terms of their ability to survive their cancer, to have minimal after-effects after a treatment. This is about survival and giving people the best chance and improving their quality of life, ultimately.”
The analysis includes 117 trusts in England for which there is complete data for the last three years. The 12-month rolling average for the number of trusts not hitting the target currently stands at 84 out of 117, the highest number over this period.
Three trusts did not reach the target once during the three years: University Hospitals Birmingham NHS foundation trust, Newcastle upon Tyne hospitals NHS foundation trust, and North Middlesex university hospital NHS trust.
Trusts that have not met the target for more than two years include West Suffolk, which last hit it in December 2019, and Leeds teaching hospitals, which last reached the standard in March 2020.
Princess Alexandra hospital in Essex, Worcestershire acute hospitals and Oxford university hospitals have not reached the target since May 2020, according to the analysis.
North-west Anglia, Norfolk and Norwich university hospitals, United Lincolnshire hospitals and Country Durham and Darlington all achieved the target for just one month out of 37.
Naser Turabi, the director of evidence and implementation at Cancer Research UK, said: “Any cancer waiting times target that is missed is unacceptable. However, this target should be a minimum standard. The fact that it is now not being met just goes to show how strained our health service has become.”
The analysis found that the best performing trusts were Calderdale and Huddersfield, East Kent hospitals university trust and Portsmouth hospitals university, which did not once miss their operational standard of 93%.
Medway trust has consistently hit its target since May 2020, while Birmingham women’s and children’s trust has hit it every month since August 2020.
An NHS England spokesperson said: “In order to fully recover from the pandemic, GPs are now referring 20% more patients every day than before the pandemic, which is good news as it will mean more people will get checked and diagnosed earlier.
“The NHS is investing billions to expand diagnostic treatment capacity to meet this extra demand, and has written to trusts with the longest backlogs asking them to urgently set out plans to reduce cancer waits – helping them redesign their care to keep up with increased demand.”
