Public told not to delay cancer check-ups

By BBC News Last updated Jan 21, 2022 51

The public are being urged not to put off seeking help for worrying cancer symptoms because of NHS pressures.

NHS England chiefs said record numbers were being seen for check-ups before Omicron hit – and despite the current situation cancer was being prioritised.

There have been nearly 50,000 fewer cancer diagnoses across the UK since the start of the pandemic, Macmillan Cancer Support say.

This risks an increase in late-stage diagnoses, reducing survival chances.

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About the data

Ambulance queues

When patients arrive at hospital by ambulance they should be handed over within 15 minutes. This data shows the proportion of ambulance patients who waited 30 minutes or more, in the week shown. It comes from daily situation reports which are published weekly during the winter in England. As this is fast-turnaround data, the NHS says only minimal validation can be carried out but it is considered fit for purpose.

Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland do not publish ambulance queue data.

A&E waits

Patients at A&E should be seen within four hours of arrival. This data shows the proportion of patients attending A&E who waited longer than four hours to be treated, discharged or admitted.

This data is published monthly for England and Wales and weekly for Scotland. Northern Ireland publishes its data quarterly and Winter 2021 is not yet available.

Bed waits and occupancy

If a patient at A&E needs to be admitted, the wait from decision to admit to being given a bed on a ward is recorded in England. The bed waits figure is the proportion of patients admitted via A&E who waited longer than four hours for a ward bed.

In Wales, bed wait data is not published, so the figure shown is the occupancy level in general and acute beds. Scotland and Northern Ireland do not publish bed wait or bed occupancy data.

NHS trusts and boards

Data for England is show by NHS trust, where the trust includes at least one hospital with a Type 1 A&E department. Type 1 means a consultant-led 24 hour A&E service with full resuscitation facilities.

When you enter a postcode for a location in England you will be shown a list of NHS trusts in your area. They will not necessarily be in order of your closest hospital as some trusts have more than one hospital. Data for Wales and Scotland are shown by NHS board.

Comparative data from two years ago is shown where available. However, where trusts have merged there is no like-for-like comparison to show. Bed occupancy data in Wales only goes back to April 2020.

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“NHS staff are working hard to ensure that those who are coming forward for checks can be seen quickly so that cancer can be caught at an earlier stage.”

Past surveys have suggested people are reluctant to come forward during surges in Covid cases because they did not want to be a burden to the health service.

NHS England said record numbers had had urgent cancer check-ups in November when 246,000 saw a consultant after a referral by a GP – although just over three quarters of these were seen in the target time of two weeks.

Figures for December and the start of this year are not yet available.

NHS England cancer director Dame Cally Palmer added it was vital people did not delay now even though hospitals were under huge strain.

“NHS staff are working hard to ensure that those who are coming forward for checks can be seen quickly so that cancer can be caught at an earlier stage.”

She said common symptoms to look out for included diarrhoea that lasts for three weeks or more, new lumps or bumps and unexplained weight loss or fatigue.

The plea comes as pressure on hospitals has started to ease a little.

The number of patients being admitted to hospital with Covid has started to fall.

And latest figures show a drop in the number of NHS staff absences in England, with approximately 4% of hospital staff off due to Covid each day during the week ending 16 January.

That’s 35,555 staff off work each day on average, down by 22% on the previous week.

There has also been a slight improvement on ambulance handover delays – how long it takes to get patients into a hospital after arriving in an ambulance.

Some 18% of arrivals faced a delay of at least 30 minutes, in the seven days to 16 January.

That’s down from 23% the previous week, which was the highest level this winter.

Some 7% of arrivals last week took more than one hour to be handed to A&E teams, down from 10%.

Public told not to delay cancer check-ups

How is the NHS in your area coping this winter?

About the data

About the data

Ambulance queues

A&E waits

Bed waits and occupancy

NHS trusts and boards