Responding to NHS England’s latest Cancer Waiting Times Data, Minesh Patel, Head of Policy at Macmillan Cancer Support says:
“While it is encouraging to see the highest performance against the Faster Diagnosis Standard in today’s data, this is just one part of the equation. People with a confirmed diagnosis also need to get treated quickly after they are diagnosed but far too many are sadly having to wait too long for treatment, causing anxiety and worry, and concern for what delays mean for their prognosis.
“Hardworking healthcare professionals across England are running on empty, doing everything they can in a system that needs urgent reform. This can’t go on. It’s time the UK government provided a long-term cancer strategy to ensure everybody with a cancer diagnosis gets the support they need when they need it.
“If you or someone you love is affected by cancer, we’re here, whatever you need to ask. Call Macmillan’s free Support Line on 0808 808 00 00, open every day, 8am to 8pm.”
“While it is encouraging to see the highest performance against the Faster Diagnosis Standard in today’s data, this is just one part of the equation. People with a confirmed diagnosis also need to get treated quickly after they are diagnosed but far too many are sadly having to wait too long for treatment, causing anxiety and worry, and concern for what delays mean for their prognosis.
“Hardworking healthcare professionals across England are running on empty, doing everything they can in a system that needs urgent reform. This can’t go on. It’s time the UK government provided a long-term cancer strategy to ensure everybody with a cancer diagnosis gets the support they need when they need it.
“If you or someone you love is affected by cancer, we’re here, whatever you need to ask. Call Macmillan’s free Support Line on 0808 808 00 00, open every day, 8am to 8pm.”
Key facts
- In February 2024 there were over 55,000 people across England who waited more than four weeks to find out if they had cancer or not following an urgent referral[i]This was 20,000 fewer than in January 2024 and was only the second time this target had been met since it was introduced.
- Although the Faster Diagnosis Standard target was met, performance against the remaining two national targets were missed again in February, showing that NHS cancer services in England are still struggling under intense pressure[ii]
- Separate official NHS data shows the number of people in England with a confirmed diagnosis of cancer and decision to treat who were still waiting to start treatment more than two months after their urgent referral continued to drop but remained above 2,900 throughout February and into the start of March. [iii]
- In February 2024, there were more than 4,600 times when people with a confirmed cancer diagnosis waited more than a month to have the treatment they needed.
- Recent Macmillan analysis shows 2023 was the worst year on record for cancer treatment delays in England[iv]
- Other figures from Macmillan Cancer Support show that last year, half of people having cancer treatment in the UK (49%) were worried about general pressures on the NHS affecting their chances of survival[v]
- Over the past 10 years, the number of people with cancer waiting longer than a month to start treatment in England has increased at a rate 5 times greater than the total number of people starting treatment[vi]
References
[i] NHS England. Cancer waiting times. CWT CRS — National Time Series Oct 2009 — Feb 2024 with Revisions. In February 2024, 55,917 people waited for more than four weeks following an urgent referral for suspected cancer to be told they either had cancer or for cancer to be definitively excluded[ii] As per ref 1.
[iii] NHS England. Management information on cancer.
[iv] Macmillan Cancer Support analysis of official statistics. Source: NHS England. Cancer waiting times. Based on a combination of analysis of from the following sources: https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/cancer-waiting-times/ and https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/cancer-waiting-times/#cwt-statistics-up-to-september-2023. In 2023, over 30,000 people newly diagnosed with cancer in England waited more than a month to start treatment following the clinical decision to do so, the highest annual figure since current records began in 2009. Performance against the 31-day treatment target was worse in every month of 2023 than in the same month of 2022, and overall annual performance has fallen each successive year from 2017 onwards
[v] Macmillan Cancer Support/YouGov survey of 2,051 adults in the UK who have had a cancer diagnosis. Fieldwork was undertaken between 18th August and 31st August 2023. The survey was carried out online. The figures have been weighted and are representative of people living with cancer in the UK (aged 18+). Question wording was as follows: How worried, if at all, are you about the following? General pressures on the NHS affecting my chances of survival. Survey included 228 people currently going through cancer treatment
[vi] As per ref 5. Refers to people starting their first treatment for a new cancer diagnosis only. The monthly average for the number of people who waited more than a month to start treatment following the clinical decision to do so has increased by 7.23 times when comparing 2023 with 2013 (2,628 people per month on average compared with 364 people per month on average). In comparison, the monthly average for the total number of people starting treatment has increased between the same time periods by 1.36 times (28,371 compared with 20,877, respectively). 7.23 divided by 1.36 = 5.3