In the last year, a record number of around 2.7 million people have been referred for cancer checks according to NHS England.
This follows figures showing that figures of people referred dramatically decreased in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
The number of people being referred for suspected cancer are currently 16 per cent higher than numbers before the pandemic. The figures increased in the last year from 2.4 million to 2.65 million.
Dame Cally Palmer, national cancer director for NHS England, stated that at least 30,000 people are still waiting to receive cancer treatment due to the pandemic, but these new figures are promising.
She said: “We are going further and faster than ever before in our ambitions to diagnose more cancers at an earlier stage so that we can save more lives.”
Dame Palmer added that it is “vital that we keep these referral rates high.”
The health service revealed that mobile clinics and symptom hotlines have been put in place to meet the needs for checks facilities and to make sure that people are diagnosed and treated as early as possible.
Professor Peter Johnson, NHS England’s national clinical director for cancer, shared that primary care referrals were also at record numbers and around 11,000 people were being tested per day. However, he added: “Nobody would say for a moment we are where we would like to be”.
He told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that the NHS had a shortage of diagnostic capacity prior to the pandemic, and despite a £2.3 billion investment into equipment, including MRI and CT scanners, it will take time to train radiologists and oncologists.
According to BBC News, Prof Johnson stated: “The number of cancer diagnosis was rising at about three per cent a year, because of the ageing population and because fewer people were dying from other conditions, such as heart attacks and strokes.
“The numbers of people that we’re seeing for cancer tests have been going up at a faster rate than the numbers of people with cancer.”
Charities have embraced the record figures of referrals but highlight the “devastating” effect of the pandemic on cancer care.
Minesh Patel, head of policy at Macmillan Cancer Support, said: “To avoid putting further pressure on hardworking doctors and nurses, it’s vital the government includes steps in the upcoming ten-year cancer plan to grow the number of cancer professionals so that people living with cancer receive the quality and timely care they desperately need.”
A report from the Health and Social Care Committee said that there was three million less people invited for screenings between March and September 2020 in the UK. Figures also show that from March 2020 and March 2021, 326,000 less people in England received an urgent referral for suspected cancer.
Health Secretary, Sajid Javid, explained: “Our upcoming ten-year cancer plan that will lead Europe in cancer care, along with our record investment to cut waiting times and the introduction of the health and social care levy, will help us continue our mission to tackle the Covid backlogs.”
