Cancer patients missed chance for treatment due to 100-day waits, trust admits

Lung cancer patients at a major trust were on waiting lists for so long that their disease progressed to a stage where it was no longer treatable.

Following a harm review, Newcastle Hospitals Foundation Trust discovered two dozen patients whose cancer had progressed to a stage where it was more serious and difficult to treat.

Within this group of 24 patients, six were moved straight to end of life care when doctors finally decided on their treatment plan.

Between 1 January 2024 and 31 January 2025, a total of 160 lung cancer patients at Newcastle FT waited longer than 104 days for treatment after an urgent or suspected cancer referral. The national target is for 85% of cancer patients to receive their first treatment within 62 days, although it has not been met since 2015. 

“Stage migration” was the biggest concern in those cases, meaning the patient’s cancer progressed while they waited for treatment, making it harder to treat.

In papers submitted to a board meeting on Friday, the trust accepted its performance on cancer was still “clearly below” the standard required. The data on lung cancer in particular “underscored” the need for a “specific and continued” focus on treatment for the disease, the trust said.

Naser Turabi, Cancer Research UK’s director of evidence and implementation, said the trust’s disclosure has drawn attention to the issue of the impact of missing waiting times standards on patients.

“Delays to treatment negatively impact patients, but it’s hard to know just how badly,” he told HSJ.

“One study suggests that for many cancers, a four-week delay to surgery increases the risk of dying by 6-8 per cent, but we know that long waits can reduce the treatment options that are available, and have significant psychological impacts too.”

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Source: HSJ, 31 March 2025