NHS doctors could spend the next 12 years wading through a backlog of cancer patients, experts warn.
The Institute for Public Policy Research said hospitals will have to do 15 per cent more appointments than usual to keep on top of patient lists.
If they can only bump levels up to five per cent above pre-pandemic levels it could take over a decade – until 2033 – to treat everyone who didn’t get seen during the pandemic as well as all the new patients.
Dr Parth Patel, an NHS doctor and member of the IPPR, said: “The health service faces an enormous backlog of care that threatens to disrupt services for well over a decade.
“We know every delay poses risks to patients’ chances of survival.
“Clearing the cancer care backlog before the next general election looks unlikely with the way the NHS is currently resourced, staffed and organised.
“The funding announced this month is just about enough to keep the health service afloat, but does not provide the funds needed to bring down pandemic backlogs as quickly as possible or transform service quality.”
The report added: “Behind these statistics are thousands of people for whom it will now be too late to cure their cancer.”
The IPPR estimated that 19,500 people did not get diagnosed when they should have during the pandemic because there were 369,000 fewer doctors’ referrals.
It said 187,000 courses of chemotherapy were missed, compared to an average year, along with 15,000 radiotherapy sessions.
Experts at the think-tank called for funding to hire more specialist cancer medics and invest in better technology, and for bigger efforts to prevent Brits getting cancer in the first place.
The report comes after Cancer Research UK warned 55,000 patients have waited over two months to start treatment because the NHS has missed waiting time targets for six years.
Breast Cancer Now’s Baroness Delyth Morgan said: “These alarming estimates lay bare just how urgently investment in equipment, and crucially in NHS staffing, is needed to avoid a devastating decade of further disruption to cancer diagnosis and treatment.”
Professor Pat Price, a cancer doctor and chair of Action Radiotherapy added: “The cancer community has the solutions, but they need investment and the tools to act.
“Radiotherapy could be flying through surgery waiting lists but their hands are tied and there is no sign of money to replace ageing machinery and IT.”
