Long waits for cancer care have become normal across the UK, with nearly half of all specialist cancer centres experiencing delays most weeks, according to the Royal College of Radiologists (RCR)
The RCR has raised alarms about an “impending crisis” in the cancer workforce, citing a “staggering” 30% shortfall in radiologists and a 15% shortfall in clinical oncologists.
These shortages are impacting patient care, leading to longer waiting times for essential treatments.
Delays in cancer treatment
A recent survey by the RCR, conducted in November 2023, collected responses from senior managers at 60 specialist cancer centres across England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland.
The findings revealed that the number of centres experiencing severe delays had almost doubled in a year. Specifically, 47% of sites reported that patients needing chemotherapy and other cancer drugs faced delays “most weeks or every week,” up from 28% the previous year. Centres reporting weekly delays for radiotherapy nearly doubled from 22% in 2022 to 43% in 2023.
Health systems across the UK have struggled to meet cancer treatment targets since before the Covid pandemic. As of March, NHS data showed that only 69% of patients in England received their first cancer treatment within 62 days, against a target of 85%. Cancer Research UK’s new analysis highlighted that 382,000 cancer patients in England had not been treated within the prescribed time since December 2015, when the target was last met.
Plans to address this ongoing issue
In response to these challenges, political parties have outlined their plans to address the crisis. The Conservative Party, if re-elected, has pledged to meet current targets for cancer care in England by the end of the next parliament, promising investments in new NHS facilities and the recruitment of 92,000 additional nurses and 24,000 new doctors.
Labour aims to reduce cancer deaths by doubling the number of state-of-the-art scanners to improve early detection rates. The Liberal Democrats have proposed a legal guarantee for all patients to start treatment within 62 days of an urgent referral, supported by recruiting more cancer nurses and replacing older scanning machines. Reform UK and the Green Party have also called for urgent NHS reforms and increased budgets to tackle staff shortages and reduce waiting lists.
NHS England has reported some progress, stating that the number of patients waiting longer than 62 days for treatment is the lowest since April 2020 and that it has been meeting the target for diagnosing cancer or ruling it out within 28 days.
As health is a devolved matter, policies outside England are set by the Scottish and Welsh governments and the Northern Ireland executive. However, decisions on NHS spending in Westminster impact allocations to the devolved administrations, influencing their policies accordingly. The upcoming elections will be pivotal in shaping the future of cancer care in the UK.
