NHS cancer patients wait to start worrying treatment



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About a quarter of NHS cancer patients have an extremely long wait before starting treatment. This is a cause for significant concern, experts say. The new NHS England figures reveal that the health service has not achieved the health care delivery targets within the time frame prescribed to cancer patients for more than 1,000 days. Similar figures were released from the performance of the A & E department.

The figures further show that after an urgent appointment with a general practitioner for a cancer patient, treatment should ideally begin within 62 days. According to the recommendations, at least 85% of patients should be seen during this period. The January figures, however, reveal that only 76.2% of patients are seen in this period of time.

According to Dr. Fran Woodard, Executive Director of Policy and Impact at Macmillan Cancer Support, "January 2019 marks the fifth anniversary of the first 62-day cancer target. Despite the efforts of the NHS's hard-working staff, more than 127,000 people have an NHS spokesperson said in a statement: "More people than ever before are coming forward for cancer screening tests, with a quarter of a million" 39 other people undergoing cancer screening this year and thousands more treated within two months. NHS England is investing an additional £ 10 million this year to treat additional people, and the NHS long-term plan calls for a series of ambitious measures to contract more cancers earlier, which will save thousands of lives each year. "

The report indicates that the wait time has not been good for the A & E department. Only 84.2% of patients are seen within the target time of four hours. The recommended number of 95% has not been reached since July 2015, the report says. An NHS spokeswoman said: "Despite a significant increase in demand, nearly 250,000 more people have been seen and treated in less than four hours in A & E this winter compared to the previous year. last year. Ambulance services respond more quickly to life-threatening calls, resulting in fewer delays in the transfer of ambulances to A & E, and many more people receive the support needed to avoid a long stay in the hospital. "

The Royal College of Surgeons has issued a statement that 227,569 patients have been waiting for more than six months for a planned procedure. At present, 4.16 million people are waiting to start treatment, the report says. Professor Derek Alderson, president of the RCS, said in a statement: "The backlog of patients waiting for treatment is starting to get worse. There are now more than 100,000 more patients waiting more than 18 weeks to start treatment compared to the same period last year.

In a statement, US Secretary of Health Jonathan Ashworth said in a statement: "Current statistics will help dispel the primary concern that targets will be changed not based on a clinical consensus. but because of political pressure from Conservative ministers. "

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