NHS England published last week the Cancer Waiting Times data for November 2021 and while the number of Londoners being urgently referred to investigate cancer symptoms or starting their first cancer treatment has improved, there is still a long way to go to overcome the damage caused by the pandemic.
Emma Tingley, Macmillan Head of Partnerships for London, presented the current situation for people living with cancer in London during the Covid pandemic to the Health Committee of the London Assembly and said:
“We know that there are about 4,200 fewer people who’ve started cancer treatment between March 2020 and November 2021, which is a really significant number. Pre-pandemic, somebody was diagnosed with cancer every 15 minutes[ii] so we now have around 230,000 people living with the diagnosis of cancer in London. We also know that around 63,000 fewer people than expected with suspected cancer have seen a specialist since the start of the pandemic.
“This situation creates a huge backlog and one of the things we may be seeing soon is people coming in with a more advanced and complex disease. If people are diagnosed late, that has an impact on the workforce. Even pre-pandemic, the workforce was quite fragile and now may not have the bandwidth for the additional work. Macmillan is calling for a fully funded workforce strategy.”
The number of people being seen by a specialist for suspected cancer in London following an urgent referral by their GP was almost 39,000 in November 2021. This was 17% higher than the pre-Covid-19 average[v].
However, the total number of people who have seen a specialist for suspected cancer in London since the pandemic began in March 2020 is still more than 63,000 lower than expected. That’s a drop of 9%, which is the equivalent to urgent referrals in London having been suspended for 8 weeks.
The number of people starting treatment for cancer in London in November 2021 was 3,419. This was 10% higher than the pre-pandemic average.
However, the total number of people starting cancer treatment in London since the start of the pandemic is still more than 4,200 lower than expected. This is a drop of 7%, which is the equivalent to first treatments for cancer having been suspended for 6 weeks.
The latest Macmillan analysis estimates the NHS in London would need to work at 110% capacity for 14 months to clear the backlog of first cancer treatments.
For support, contact our specially trained nurses and experts on the Macmillan Support Line, 0808 808 00 00 (8am-8pm, 7 days/week) or visit macmillan.org.uk.
