More than a quarter of Brits wait over a month for cancer test results due to NHS delays

MORE than a quarter of Brits wait more than a month for cancer test results due to NHS delays.

Patients with red flag symptoms should get a diagnosis or the all-clear within 28 days of being referred to a specialist.


More than a quarter of Brits wait over a month for cancer test results due to NHS delays
More than a quarter of Brits wait over a month for cancer test results due to NHS delays

But Cancer Research UK says an average 65,400 people every month are left waiting for longer and face weeks of anxiety.

Only half of hospitals meet the minimum standard of diagnosing 75 per cent of patients within four weeks — because of staff shortages and backlogs worsened by Covid.

Michelle Mitchell, Cancer Research CEO, said: “We should not accept that over one in four people on an urgent referral are left waiting over a month to find out whether they have cancer.

“Nor should we stand for the variation that exists across the country.”

Read more on the NHS


More than a quarter of Brits wait over a month for cancer test results due to NHS delays

DON'T DELAY

Urgent warning thousands of Brits face deadly delay in cancer diagnosis backlog


More than a quarter of Brits wait over a month for cancer test results due to NHS delays

CANCER DRUG DELAY

Third of cancer patients waiting over two months to receive treatment

The charity wants the bar raised so that 95 per cent of patients get a clear answer within a month.

Earlier diagnosis boosts a cancer sufferer’s chances.

Hospitals do not have enough specialist cancer staff, such as radiologists who take and read scans, to keep up with patient demand.

Health ministers are drawing up a long-term plan which will be vital for improving NHS cancer care.