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Excess deaths in 2022 among worst in 50 years

More than 650,000 deaths were registered in the UK in 2022 - 9% more than 2019. This represents one of the largest excess death levels outside the pandemic in 50 years.

Though far below peak pandemic levels, it has prompted questions about why more people are still dying than normal. Data indicates pandemic effects on health and NHS pressures are among the leading explanations.

Although the ongoing impact of the pandemic is a contributing factor, a number of doctors are blaming the wider crisis in the NHS. On 1 January 2023, the president of the Royal College of Emergency Medicine suggested the crisis in urgent care could be causing "300-500 deaths a week".

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Source: BBC News, 10 January 2023

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Excess deaths continue to soar despite Covid deaths decreasing

Excess deaths in the UK have continued to soar, as Covid deaths decreased for fourth week in a row, the latest data shows.

A total of 10,942 deaths from all causes were registered in England and Wales in the week to 26 August, according to the Office for National Statistics.

This is 16.6%above the five-year average, the equivalent of 1,556 “excess deaths” during this week.

However, new figures show a continued downward trend in deaths involving Covid-19, which have fallen to the lowest level since the beginning of July.

A total of 453 deaths registered in the seven days to August 26 mentioned coronavirus on the death certificate, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS) – down 18 per cent on the previous week.

Stuart Macdonald, from the Covid-19 actuaries’ response group, wrote: “There have been around 5,300 deaths with Covid-19 mentioned on the death certificate in the last ten weeks. Covid was the underlying cause for 3,400 of these and may also have contributed to others. Since Covid does not explain all the recent excess we need to look at other causes.”

Mr Macdonald outlined a number of potential drivers of excess deaths which included increased risk of heart failure in people following Covid-19 infection, delays for urgent treatment within the NHS and missed or delayed diagnoses earlier in the pandemic.

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Source: The Independent, 6 September 2022

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Ex-trust executive to probe NHS manager’s death

An ambulance trust has appointed a former senior trust executive to lead an independent investigation into the circumstances surrounding the unexplained death of a staff member, HSJ  has learned.

East of England Ambulance Service Trust also shared the terms of reference for the investigation withHSJ, which follows the trust being forced to launch a similar probe in 2020 after three young staff members died in 11 days in December 2019.

The latest investigation is into the death of Nick Lee, 46, from Ovington in west Norfolk, who died on 3 December 2021. Mr Lee was an operations manager for the trust in the west Norfolk area and had worked for the trust for nearly 20 years. The cause of death is yet to be officially established.

Margaret Pratt has been appointed by the trust to lead the investigation. 

A trust statement issued to HSJ said: “The purpose of the investigation is to look at the events leading up to the death, review the circumstances of the death and consider whether there is anything that the trust can learn to contribute to improving the support provided to staff.”

The investigation follows a prolonged period of years in which the trust has been dogged by high-profile and deeply ingrained cultural and bullying problems.

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Source: HSJ, 29 March 2022

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Ex-nurse convicted of injecting patient with wrong drug gets probation

RaDonda Vaught, a former nurse in Tennessee who was convicted on felony charges for fatally injecting a patient with an incorrect drug, was sentenced to probation Friday in a case that became a rallying cry for health-care workers fearful that medical mistakes would be criminalised.

Vaught, who worked at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, faced up to eight years in prison for giving 75-year-old Charlene Murphey a fatal dose of the wrong medication in December 2017. Prosecutors said that instead of giving Murphey a dose of the sedative Versed, Vaught injected the patient with the powerful muscle relaxant vecuronium, which left her unable to breathe. Vaught, 38, was convicted in March of criminally negligent homicide and gross neglect of an impaired adult.

Davidson County Criminal Court Judge Jennifer Smith ruled Friday that Vaught would be granted a judicial diversion, meaning the conviction would be expunged from the records if she completed a three-year probation.

“Ms. Vaught is well aware of the seriousness of the offense,” Smith said, according to NPR, noting that the Murphey family had suffered a “terrible loss.” “She credibly expressed remorse in this courtroom.”

The judge added that Vaught, who was shaking and had broken into tears as the order was read, had no previous criminal record and would never be a nurse again.

Vaught, who took responsibility for her actions immediately, had apologized to the Murphey family in court, saying she’d “be forever haunted by my role in her untimely passing.”

The judge’s sentencing Vaught to probation instead of prison ends a case that has galvanised healthcare workers who have spoken out against poor working conditions that have only been exacerbated during the coronavirus pandemic.

Medical errors, including those that result in death, are usually dealt with by state medical boards. Lawsuits against those involved in fatal medical mistakes are almost never prosecuted in criminal court, which made Vaught’s case a matter of national interest in recent months.

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Source: Washington Post, 14 May 2022

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Ex-leaders of Letby trust arrested

Three former senior leaders of the trust where babies were murdered by Lucy Letby have been arrested on suspicion of gross negligence manslaughter.

Cheshire police confirmed the three, who were part of the leadership team at the Countess of Chester Hospital Foundation Trust in 2015 and 2016, were arrested on 30 June.

All three have subsequently been bailed pending further enquiries, the police confirmed in a statement.

Letby was convicted in 2023 of murdering seven babies, and attempting to murder others, in 2015 and 2016, while working in the neonatal unit at the hospital.

Detective superintendent Paul Hughes, senior investigating officer at Cheshire police, said in a statement today: “In October 2023, following the lengthy trial and subsequent conviction of Lucy Letby, Cheshire Constabulary launched an investigation into corporate manslaughter at the Countess of Chester Hospital.

“This focuses on senior leadership and their decision making to determine whether any criminality has taken place concerning the response to the increased levels of fatalities.

“In March 2025, the scope of the investigation widened to also include gross negligence manslaughter.

“This is a separate offence to corporate manslaughter and focuses on the grossly negligent action or inaction of individuals.

“It is important to note that this does not impact on the convictions of Lucy Letby for multiple offences of murder and attempted murder.”

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Source: HSJ, 1 July 2025

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Ex-health secretaries call for urgent blood scandal pay-outs

Three former health secretaries have called on the government to urgently pay compensation to victims of the contaminated blood scandal.

The chairman of the public inquiry into the scandal, Sir Brian Langstaff, has recommended that each victim should receive a provisional sum of £100,000.

One woman who developed hepatitis C from infected blood told the BBC the news was "incredibly significant".

The government has said it will urgently consider any recommendations.

Former health secretaries Andy Burnham, Jeremy Hunt and Matt Hancock told the BBC it was important to act quickly because the life expectancy of many victims had been shortened by infections they had contracted.

A lawyer representing about 15,000 claimants also argued that victims should receive compensation "immediately". Des Collins said payment must be made within "days or weeks", and he would step up pressure from Monday.

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Source: BBC News, 31 August 2022

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Ex-director ‘removed and silenced over race concerns’

A former finance director has claimed he was ousted and subjected to a campaign to “silence” him by his trust after he asked “inconvenient” questions about race inequalities.

Don Richards, who was chief finance officer at West Hertfordshire Teaching Hospitals Trust until 2024, told an employment tribunal preliminary hearing in Watford on Wednesday that he had been “pushed” into signing a settlement agreement.

He left the trust shortly after two other executive directors wrote to chief executive Matthew Coats saying they had “no confidence” in him. Days earlier, the integrated care board CEO had sent a separate letter to Mr Coats saying she had concerns over the trust’s financial leadership. 

Mr Richards said in the hearing that there had been a “continuing campaign first to remove me, then to silence me”.

He said this stemmed from a board meeting – which took place in the same month the letters were sent – where he had raised queries about mortality rates among Black women in maternity services, as well as staff with a minority ethnic background being passed over for promotion.

He told the hearing: “I asked inconvenient questions, and the chief executive at the trust didn’t like that. His expedient solution was to remove me.”

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Source: HSJ, 10 April 2026

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Evidence supports health guidelines for Down Syndrome

One of the first studies to examine the full lifespan of people living with Down syndrome (DS) has provided evidence in support of health guidelines specifically for people with the condition.

Life expectancy for people with DS had increased dramatically over the last 80 years or so, yet people with the condition still died at an earlier age than people in the general population or those with other intellectual disabilities, said the authors of a new study, published in The Lancet. This meant that there was an "opportunity to improve health outcomes for this minority", they said.

There continued to be disparities in surveillance, diagnosis, and treatment of common health conditions in people with intellectual disabilities, including those with DS, highlighted the authors, with ongoing premature mortality and excess morbidity identified in these groups.

In April 2022, the Down Syndrome Act was introduced in England, which stipulated that the Government must provide information to the NHS and local councils on how to provide the most appropriate care and support for people with DS.

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Source: Medscape, 26 May 2023

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Evidence is insufficient to back mandatory NHS staff vaccination, says House of Lords committee

A House of Lords committee has raised several concerns about the proposed legislation to make vaccination against COVID-19 mandatory for all NHS staff in England, particularly whether the benefits of vaccinating the remaining 8% of NHS workers were proportionate and how the NHS would cope with losing the 5.4% who don’t want to be vaccinated.

The Secondary Legislation Scrutiny Committee said that the government’s plans had not been thoroughly thought through, leaving the House of Lords unable to scrutinise the proposed legislation.

On 9 November England’s health and social care secretary, Sajid Javid, announced that all staff who work in health and social care settings regulated by the Care Quality Commission will have to be fully vaccinated by 1 April 2022.2 “We must avoid preventable harm and protect patients in the NHS, protect colleagues in the NHS, and protect the NHS itself,” he said.

But in a report published on 30 November the committee said that the benefit of increasing the protection from vaccinating staff who had not yet taken up offers of the jab “may be marginal” and that the government had failed to publish any contingency plans on how it would cope with the loss of staff who do not want the vaccine.

The report said that of the 208 000 NHS staff who weren’t currently vaccinated 54 000 (26%) would take up the vaccine under the law and 126 000 (61%) would leave their jobs.

“Given the legislation is anticipated to cause £270m in additional recruitment and training costs and major disruption to the health and care provision at the end of the grace period, very strong evidence should be provided to support this policy choice. DHSC [Department for Health and Social Care] has not provided such evidence,” it said.

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Source: BMJ, 3 December 2021

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Every ICS expected to break even in ‘harsh’ new regime

Every health and care system — including those carrying huge deficits going into the pandemic — will be told to deliver financial balance in 2022-23, according to draft guidance seen by HSJ.

For the last two years, local NHS organisations have effectively seen all their spending covered by the government under temporary Covid measures.

But a more typical financial regime is now due to begin in April, with systems expected to deliver services from within funding envelopes set at the start of the year, and to be held to account on this.

Some integrated care systems went into the pandemic with deficits of more than £100m, and will likely struggle to reach a balanced position.

But draft guidance circulated to local leaders in recent months by NHS England says: “NHS England and NHS Improvement intend to use additional powers in the legislation to set a financial objective for each integrated care board [the local commissioning body] and its partner trusts to deliver a financially balanced system, namely a duty on break even.”

However, it is unclear what the consequences will be for an ICS that fails to meet what is described as a “new joint legal duty”.

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Source: HSJ, 31 March 2022

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Every hospital trust in England limiting visitors despite move towards ‘living with Covid’

Patients face limits on visitors in every hospital trust in England, The Telegraph has revealed, with restrictions set to continue even once the country moves to "living with Covid".

It comes as Boris Johnson announces that all Covid regulations including self-isolation will be abolished at the end of February. 

The health service supports keeping some visiting restrictions in place while Covid remains in circulation among the general population, it is understood.

A spokesman said: "The NHS regularly reminds hospitals that visits for patients should continue to go ahead as much as possible and extra measures should already be in place so that this can be done safely."

NHS England encourages trusts to facilitate visits "wherever possible, and to do so in a risk-managed way", but it is up to individual trusts to set their own policies based on UK Health Security Agency guidelines.

Analysis by The Telegraph found that at least 34 hospital trusts across England still have routine visits suspended, with exceptions such as those for patients receiving end-of-life care and people with dementia. All 125 trusts have some form of visiting restriction in place. The most common policy is to have one named visitor per patient for the entirety of a patient's stay, who can only visit for one hour once a day.

Helen Wildbore, the director of the Relatives and Residents Association, said limiting patients to one nominated visitor put pressure on families, leaving the carer "exhausted".

She added: "If you’re going into hospital and you're not able to have your family with you, you're going to come out worse." In some cases, patients who needed hospital care had chosen not to go because they were worried about being isolated from family, she said.

Caroline Abrahams, the Charity Director at Age UK, said it was "imperative that hospitals open their doors to visitors again as wide as they possibly can" as the pandemic eases.

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Source: The Telegraph, 18 February 2022

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Visiting restrictions and the impact on patients and their families: a relative's perspective

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Every GP practice now has to offer online booking

From today, every GP practice in England will have to offer online appointment bookings throughout the day.

The move, ordered by the government, is aimed at reducing the so-called '8am scramble' to get through to practices on the phone.

Surgeries will have to provide the service from 08:00 to 18:30 Monday to Friday.

Alongside requesting non-urgent appointments, patients will also be able to ask questions and describe symptoms and request a call back.

It comes after the British Medical Association (BMA) called for a halt to the introduction, warning that potentially serious health problems could be missed by some GPs and lead to patients being harmed.

The doctors union said there would be a "potential online triage tsunami" and urged more to be done to provide safeguards, such as allowing practices to temporarily switch off the online booking mechanism if staff are struggling to handle patient numbers.

It said on Monday it would consider industrial action in the form of a work-to-rule if need be.

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Source: BBC News, 1 October 2025

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Every ambulance trust on highest alert level

All ambulance services have declared the highest level of alert due to ‘extreme pressures’ facing the urgent and emergency care system.

One senior ambulance chief told HSJ that ambulance response times have dropped dramatically in the last few days, while A&E handover delays have surged. They said: “The wheels are falling off [the emergency care system] now, we’re in a really awful situation.”

They said ambulance leaders have major concerns about the planned strike action by nurses on Thursday, fearing this will exacerbate discharge delays and have a knock-on effect on ambulance handover problems.

It also comes ahead of strike action planned by ambulance staff for next week.

HSJ has seen internal communications which confirm all ten ambulance trusts in England are now in level four of their “resource escalation action plan”, which means they can seek assistance from other nearby trusts or services. However, this is more difficult when an entire sector is under pressure, as is the case currently. 

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Source: HSJ, 13 December 2022

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Even more’ nurses considering quitting the profession, survey reveals

There has been a sharp rise in the number of nurses considering quitting the profession compared to this time last year, suggest results from a new survey.

The research also found that “existing tensions” among the workforce appeared to have been “exacerbated” by the COVID-19 crisis.

The survey findings feature in a new report published by Royal College of Nursing and cover the views of almost 42,000 of its members across the UK and Channel Islands.

Of those who responded to the survey, 36% of nurses were thinking of leaving the profession, an increase from 27% reported in a similar piece of research carried out at the end of last year.

When considering the reasons for quitting, 61% of staff indicated that the level of pay was the “main driver”, while others said they were dissatisfied with the way nursing staff had been treated during the pandemic (44%).

Meanwhile, 43% of nurses cited low staffing levels and 42% a lack of management support as key reasons for wanting to leave nursing.

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Source: Nursing Times, 17 July 2020

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Even mild Covid-19 during pregnancy ‘exhausts placenta and damages immune response’

Even mild cases of Covid-19 during pregnancy “exhaust” the placenta and damage its immune response, new research suggests.

The findings, which come as coronavirus cases are again on the rise in the UK, lend weight to multiple studies over the course of the pandemic linking the virus to a rise in dangerous pregnancy complications such as pre-eclampsia.

But the results of the study – the largest yet involving the placentas of infected women – may represent the “the tip of the iceberg” of how Covid-19 affects foetal or placental development, warned Dr Kristina Adams Waldorf, the senior author on the study, which was published last month in the American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology.

 

Early in the pandemic, it was widely assumed that the coronavirus did not harm the developing foetus because so few babies were born with the infection, said Dr Adams Waldorf, a professor of obstetrics and gynaecology at the University of Washington School of Medicine.

“But what we’re seeing now is that the placenta is vulnerable to Covid-19, and the infection changes the way the placenta works, and that in turn is likely to impact the development of the foetus,” explained the professor.

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Source: The Independent, 9 October 2022

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Europe’s medical schools to give more training on diseases linked to climate crisis

Mosquito-borne diseases such as dengue and malaria will become a bigger part of the curriculum at medical schools across Europe in the face of the climate crisis.

Future doctors will also have more training on how to recognise and treat heatstroke, and be expected to take the climate impact of treatments such as inhalers for asthma into account, medical school leaders said, announcing the formation of the European Network on Climate & Health Education (Enche).

Led by the University of Glasgow, 25 medical schools from countries including the UK, Belgium and France will integrate lessons on climate into their education of more than 10,000 students.

Glasgow University’s Dr Camille Huser, co-chair of the network, said: “The doctors of the future will see a different array of presentations and diseases that they are not seeing now. They need to be aware of that so they can recognise them.”

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Source: The Guardian, 14 October 2024

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Europe must act now to stop the spread of deadly diseases due to COVID-19

Healthcare workers and patients are being put at risk not only from COVID-19 but other deadly diseases as a result of an increase in sharps injuries due to the pandemic. 

Sharps injuries are accidents where a needle or other medical sharp instrument penetrates the skin with the potential to transfer blood borne viruses, including HIV or hepatitis B or C, from the patient to healthcare worker and vice versa. Sharps injuries cause increased costs and disruption in the healthcare system, which have all been exacerbated by the pandemic anyway. Sharps injuries also have a major emotional and mental impact on staff who always put patients first and literally have put their lives on the line during COVID-19.

The European Biosafety Network has commissioned a survey to be published in June on the impact COVID-19 has had on sharps injuries in Europe. The preliminary findings of the survey by Ipsos MORI, covering more than 300,000 healthcare workers in 80 large public hospitals across Europe, show that the number of sharps injuries has increased by some 276,000 injuries (23%) over the last year: with 98% of respondents saying that the increase was a result of the increased pressure and stress due to COVID-19.

Other recent published survey results also show that the number of reported sharps injuries has increased as a result of the pandemic. We need to ensure that other existing legislation and regulations which prevent sharps injuries are both understood and complied with.

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Source: The Brussels Times, 28 April 2021

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Europe faces ‘cancer epidemic’ after estimated 1m cases missed during Covid

Experts have warned that Europe faces a “cancer epidemic” unless urgent action is taken to boost treatment and research, after an estimated 1m diagnoses were missed during the pandemic.

The impact of Covid-19 and the focus on it has exposed “weaknesses” in cancer health systems and in the cancer research landscape across the continent, which, if not addressed as a matter of urgency, will set back cancer outcomes by almost a decade, leading healthcare and scientific experts say.

A report, European Groundshot – Addressing Europe’s Cancer Research Challenges: a Lancet Oncology Commission, brought together a wide range of patient, scientific, and healthcare experts with detailed knowledge of cancer across Europe.

One unintended consequence of the pandemic was the adverse effects that the rapid repurposing of health services and national lockdowns, and their continuing legacy, have had on cancer services, on cancer research, and on patients with cancer, the experts said.

“To emphasise the scale of this problem, we estimate that about 1m cancer diagnoses might have been missed across Europe during the Covid-19 pandemic,” they wrote in The Lancet Oncology. “There is emerging evidence that a higher proportion of patients are diagnosed with later cancer stages compared with pre-pandemic rates as a result of substantial delays in cancer diagnosis and treatment. This cancer stage shift will continue to stress European cancer systems for years to come.

“These issues will ultimately compromise survival and contribute to inferior quality of life for many European patients with cancer.”

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Source: The Guardian, 15 November 2022

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EU pushes for higher uptake of two key cancer-preventing vaccines

The European Commission is recommending measures EU countries should adopt to increase the uptake of two vaccines that prevent viral infections that can cause cancer, it said on Wednesday.

The two vaccines are against the human papillomaviruses (HPV) that can cause many cancers, including cervical cancer, and against hepatitis B (HBV), which can lead to liver cancer.

As part of Europe's Beating Cancer Plan, the European Union wants member countries to reach HPV vaccination of 90% for girls by 2030 and significantly increase the rate for boys.

"Many Member States are well below 50% HPV vaccination coverage for girls with limited data available for boys and young adults, and there is a significant lack of data on HBV vaccination rate," the Commission statement said, adding it was as low as 1% in some countries.

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Source: Medscape UK, 31 January 2024

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EU plan for medicine stockpile could worsen UK’s record shortages

The EU is to stockpile key medicines that will worsen the record drug shortages in the UK, with experts warning that the country could be left “behind in the queue”.

The EU is seeking to safeguard its supplies by switching to a system in which its 27 members work together to secure reliable supplies of 200 commonly used medications, such as antibiotics, painkillers and vaccines.

But the bloc’s move to insulate itself from growing drug shortages threatens to exacerbate the increasing scarcity of medicines facing the NHS, posing serious problems for doctors.

“Europe is securing access to key drugs and vaccines as a single region, with huge influence and buying power. As a result of Brexit the UK is now isolated from this system, so our drug supplies could be at risk in the future,” said Dr Andrew Hill, an expert on the pharmaceutical trade.

Britain is experiencing a record level of drug shortages, with more than 100 – including treatments for cancer, type 2 diabetes and motor neurone disease – scarce or impossible to obtain.

Mark Dayan, the Brexit programme lead at the Nuffield Trust health thinktank, said the EU’s decision to act as a buying cartel could seriously disadvantage Britain.

“There is a real risk that measures in such a large neighbour, which is now a separate market due to Brexit, will leave the UK behind in the queue when shortages strike,” Dayan said.

It also has an initiative for member states to transfer stocks of medicine to cover shortages in others. These measures could shut UK purchasers out in certain scenarios.

“This would risk worsening shortages from a starting point where they are already exceptionally severe for the UK and other countries, with a mounting impact in terms of costs and wasted time for the NHS, and in terms of patients struggling to get what their doctors have said they need.”

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Source: The Guardian, 25 January 2024

Have you (or a loved one) ever been prescribed medication that you were then unable to get hold of at the pharmacy or in hospital? To help us understand how these issues impact the lives of patients and families, please share your experience and insights in our hub community thread on the topic here or drop a comment below. You'll need to register with the hub first, its free and easy to do.

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EU acts to boost cybersecurity in hospitals

The European Commission has introduced an action plan to strengthen the cybersecurity of hospitals and healthcare providers across the European Union (EU). The initiative includes creating a pan-European Cybersecurity Support Centre, managed by the European Network and Information Security Agency, to address the rising number of cyber threats targeting healthcare institutions.

In 2023 alone, 309 significant incidents were reported in healthcare, more than in any other critical sector. 

“The healthcare sector faces the highest proportion of high-impact cybersecurity incidents,” Robin van Kessel, PhD, a Hoffmann fellow in health system financing and payment models at the London School of Economics, London, United Kingdom, and the World Economic Forum, told Medscape Medical News. 

This disproportionate impact reflects the fact that healthcare organisations store a large amount of sensitive patient data, including medical histories, diagnoses, and treatment information. Cyberattacks on healthcare systems can disrupt critical medical services, thus causing potentially severe consequences for patient care and safety. 

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Source: Medscape Medical News, 27 January 2025

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Ethnic minority Covid death gap closes

People from ethnic minority backgrounds are no longer significantly more likely to die of Covid-19, new Office for National Statistics (ONS) data shows.

Early in the pandemic, deaths involving coronavirus were higher among black and Asian people than white people, with the highest risk among Bangladeshi, Black Caribbean and Pakistani groups.

Covid mortality rates for all ethnic minorities decreased last year. The latest data shows there is no significant statistical difference between the number of Covid deaths among ethnic minorities and the white population.

The ONS also said that "all cause" mortality rates - measuring how likely people are to die of any cause, including Covid-19 - have returned to pre-pandemic patterns.

The reasons for this change are complex, and experts say there are "various factors" to consider.

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Source: BBC News, 22 February 2023

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Ethnic minorities in England have worse access to GPs

Areas across England where the highest proportion of ethnic minorities live have the poorest access to GPs, with experts attributing this disparity to an outdated model being used to determine funding.

As of October 2023, there were 34 fully qualified full-time-equivalent GPs per 100,000 patients in the areas with the highest proportion of people from ethnic minority backgrounds, according to a Guardian analysis of NHS Digital and census data.

This is 29% lower than the 48 general practitioners per 100,000 people serving neighbourhoods with the highest proportion of white British people.

Although ethnic minorities tend to be younger than the white British population, minority ethnic areas still have the lowest number of GPs per person even when factors such as age, sex and health necessities are considered.

Prof Miqdad Asaria at the London School of Economics department of health policy said it was “very concerning” that ethnic minorities “have systematically poorer access to primary care which is likely to be a key driver of current and future health inequalities”.

“Primary care plays a crucial role in preventing disease, diagnosing and treating illness, and facilitating access to specialist or hospital treatment for people who need it,” he added.

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Source: The Guardian,15 February 2024

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Ethnic minorities in England ‘need more GP visits’ before cancer diagnosis

Ethnic minorities and young people require more visits than other people to the GP before being diagnosed with cancer, according to new analysis.

On average, one in five people across England require three or more GP interactions before being diagnosed with cancer. But for people from ethnic minority backgrounds, the figure rises to one in three, according to analysis of the NHS cancer patient experience 2022 survey by QualityWatch, a joint programme from the Nuffield Trust and the Health Foundation.

For young people aged between 16 and 24, about half needed at least three GP visits before being diagnosed, with 20% needing at least five visits. Despite this, young people were still more likely to be diagnosed at an early stage in their cancer.

Prof Kamila Hawthorne, the chair of the Royal College of GPs, said that identifying cancer symptoms in young people could be challenging as the risk for the group was generally much smaller.

Hawthorne said: “Ensuring patients receive timely and appropriate referrals for suspected cancers is a priority for GPs – and to this end, they are doing a good job, making more urgent referrals and ensuring more cancers are being diagnosed at an early stage than ever.

“Whilst GPs are highly trained to identify cancers, this remains challenging in primary care, not least and particularly with some cancers, because the symptoms are often vague and typical of other, more common conditions.”

Dr Liz Fisher, senior fellow at the Nuffield Trust, said: “Delays to a cancer diagnosis pose real risks for people and an early diagnosis plays a pivotal role in determining the treatments available to people and determining outcomes.

“The NHS has set an ambitious goal to dramatically increase early detection of cancer, but performance in this area has stubbornly stalled in recent years. Everyone’s experience of cancer diagnosis is different but the risks to delays aren’t felt equally, with younger people and those from minority ethnic groups requiring more visits to health professionals to secure a diagnosis.”

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Source: The Guardian, 24 April 2024

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Ethnic minorities found at higher maternity risks

The charity Birthright have launched an inquiry into why women from ethnic minority backgrounds are experiencing higher maternity risks. 

Evidence in the inquiry will be gathered from parents, anti-racist campaigners, midwives and obstetricians. 

The NHS has said it is working on a new strategy to address inequalities, maternity and neonatal care. 

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Source: BBC News, 23 June 2021

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