NHS England is projected to fall short of its key cancer treatment target by nearly 10,000 patients, according to exclusive analysis of official figures. The health service set an interim goal to treat 80% of cancer patients within 62 days of an urgent referral or consultant upgrade by March 2027. Current data indicates the system is struggling to meet even basic benchmarks, with the proportion of patients starting treatment on time dropping to 70.7% in September from 71.9% in August.
Monthly Shortfall and Leadership Criticism
Calculations by the charity Radiotherapy UK reveal that the NHS would need to treat 2,850 additional patients each month to stay on track for the March 2027 deadline. To hit the 80% target, approximately 24,400 cancer patients must start treatment within the 62-day window every month. Currently, the service treats about 21,500 patients on time, creating a cumulative shortfall of 9,490 patients.
Prof Pat Price, chair of Radiotherapy UK and a leading oncologist, stated that the government will miss the target because the NHS lacks sufficient staff and equipment. He warned that this lack of leadership could result in thousands of preventable deaths due to delayed treatment.
Mark Lawler, a professor of digital health at Queen’s University Belfast, attributed the failures to a lack of accountability and focus. He described the system as being held together by goodwill alone and argued that without radical changes in mindset and basic operational focus, the NHS will miss treatment targets for another decade.
Disparities in Care and Diagnosis Delays
The analysis highlights significant disparities in treatment speeds across different cancer types. While more than two-thirds of patients with prostate and breast cancers were treated within two months, only 60.9% of those with lung cancer and 60% of those with gynaecological cancers received timely care. Head and neck cancer patients faced the longest delays, with barely half treated on time.
Regional inequalities were also stark. The Midlands recorded the lowest proportion of patients treated on time at 66.6%, compared to 77.3% in London. These treatment delays are compounded by slower diagnosis rates. Analysis by Cancer Research UK shows that only 55.4% of patients were diagnosed within 28 days of an urgent referral, falling well below the 80% standard.
Naser Turabi, Cancer Research UK’s director of health policy and evidence, noted that hospital capacity cannot keep pace with surging demand. Urgent referrals in England have risen by about 20% over the past four years. While investment in diagnostic equipment is welcome, Turabi said progress is insufficient to cut waiting times for the small percentage of referrals that result in a cancer diagnosis.
Workforce Shortages and Government Response
Dr Hilary Williams, clinical vice-president of the Royal College of Physicians, emphasized that earlier diagnosis is only beneficial if patients can be treated quickly. She argued that the NHS needs sufficient capacity across the entire cancer pathway, including more diagnostic resources like imaging and pathology, as well as specialist workforce to deliver and interpret tests.
Dr Stephen Harden, president of the Royal College of Radiologists, cited chronic shortages of clinical radiologists and oncologists as drivers of dangerous delays. He pointed out that NHS hiring freezes for these doctors have doubled in the last year, making it harder to keep patients safe. Harden called on the government to end recruitment freezes to ensure services have the doctors needed to diagnose and treat patients on time.
A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson defended the government’s record, stating that cancer waiting times are moving in the right direction. They noted that all three cancer standards are better than a year ago and that around 290,000 more people have been diagnosed on time or ruled out over the last year. The spokesperson added that the national cancer plan aims to help more people get diagnosed earlier and begin treatment sooner.
Source: The Guardian
