New research warns '˜patients are waiting too long' for cancer diagnosis

The average time for a patient in England to be diagnosed with cancer is 40 days, research published today suggests, prompting warnings that the prolonged wait is adding to an already often unbearable amount of stress.

NHS bosses have set a target for all cancer patients to be diagnosed within 28 days.

The new study found that in 2014 the median number of days from first relevant presentation to the date of diagnosis was 40 days.

This ranged from 15 days to 86 days, according to the research published in the British Journal of General Practice.

Dr Jodie Moffat, from Cancer Research UK, said: “The message couldn’t be clearer – too many patients have waited far too long for diagnostic tests or getting the results back.

“This must change. Waiting for a diagnosis is an exceptionally anxious time for patients, so it’s vital that no one has to wait longer than necessary.

“Diagnostic services need more staff to provide tests for patients, which should speed things up in the future.

“There is no magic bullet for earlier diagnosis.”

The research comes after a multi-million pound funding package was announced last month to improve cancer services in the region.

The West Yorkshire and Harrogate Cancer Alliance allocated £4.5m to tackle staff shortages and speed up diagnoses in cancer treatment. It will benefit patients in Leeds, Wakefield, Bradford, Harrogate and Kirklees.

Projects chosen for funding include a pilot scheme in Leeds for patients with vague cancer symptoms and faster access to tests at Mid Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust.

For the new study, researchers led by Ruth Swann, senior analyst for Public Health England’s National Cancer Registration and Analysis Service, examined data on more than 17,000 patients diagnosed with cancer in 2014.

They found that GPs referred these patients on to specialists within five days on average.

The authors found that the time from referral to being told the diagnosis of cancer exceeded 28 days in 54 per cent of patients.

Delays were most frequently attributed to the patient, primary or secondary care clinician, and system factors. NHS England set an ambition for people to be diagnosed with cancer, or for cancer to be excluded, within 28 days being referred by GPs by 2020.

An NHS England spokeswoman said: “In the three years since these 2014 figures were collected, the NHS has published a national cancer strategy and, thanks to improved NHS care, an extra 2,000 people now survive cancer each year. Last year, over 1.7m people were urgently referred by their GP, half a million more than three years ago when the data in this report were collected.”

Comment: Page 10.