Cancer operations down 800 in first two weeks of January

There were 800 fewer cancer surgeries in the first two weeks of January than usually take place during the period, according to provisional data seen by HSJ.

The bulk of this reduction came in London and the surrounding counties such as Essex, Bedfordshire, and Surrey.

London and the south east have been severely hit by coronavirus pressures, causing widely reported mass cancellations of non-urgent elective surgery. However, the impact on cancer cases has, so far, been less clear.

NHS England has insisted in the last week that urgent cancer cases should be given the same priority as coronavirus patients.

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Source: HSJ, 25 January 2021