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Found 537 results
  1. News Article
    The public are being urged not to put off seeking help for worrying cancer symptoms because of NHS pressures. NHS England chiefs said record numbers were being seen for check-ups before Omicron hit - and despite the current situation cancer was being prioritised. There have been nearly 50,000 fewer cancer diagnoses across the UK since the start of the pandemic, Macmillan Cancer Support say. This risks an increase in late-stage diagnoses, reducing survival chances. Past surveys have suggested people are reluctant to come forward during surges in Covid cases because they did not want to be a burden to the health service. NHS England said record numbers had had urgent cancer check-ups in November when 246,000 saw a consultant after a referral by a GP - although just over three quarters of these were seen in the target time of two weeks. NHS England cancer director Dame Cally Palmer added it was vital people did not delay now even though hospitals were under huge strain. "NHS staff are working hard to ensure that those who are coming forward for checks can be seen quickly so that cancer can be caught at an earlier stage." She said common symptoms to look out for included diarrhoea that lasts for three weeks or more, new lumps or bumps and unexplained weight loss or fatigue. Read full story Source: BBC News, 2o January 2022
  2. News Article
    Changes in cervical cancer screenings will help save lives, not put them at risk, according to a top gynaecologist. Prof Alison Fiander said people should not be worried screenings have dropped from every three to every five years in Wales as tests are "more effective". Public Health Wales (PHW) said the new rules were for people aged 25 to 49. More than 1.2 million people backed calls for a rethink in a UK petition and politicians in Wales will debate it after 30,000 signed a Senedd petition. Women and people with a cervix - as it could also affect trans men too - who had not tested positive for human papillomavirus (HPV) will now wait two more years between tests. Health chiefs in Wales said they changed the interval between screenings to the same time as those in Scotland because tests are now more accurate. Cervical screening gaps in England and Northern Ireland remain at three years. But Wales' public health body did publicly apologise for causing "concern", and admitted health chiefs "hadn't done enough to explain the changes". Prof Fiander, a clinical lead at the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, said PHW had "missed an opportunity" to help educate people but reassured the public the change was safe and not a cost-cutting exercise. Read full story Source: BBC News, 18 January 2022
  3. News Article
    An urgent debate has been called in the Senedd over a move to extend routine cervical screenings in Wales from every three years to five years. Public Health Wales (PHW) said those aged 25-49 who had not tested positive for human papillomavirus (HPV) would now wait two more years between tests. PHW said it was because the screening tests are now more accurate. However, 30,000 people signed a petition against it, citing the risk it could cause an increase in deaths. Particularly concerned are those who have not received the HPV vaccine, a national immunisation programme for which began in 2008 for girls aged 12 to 13. The number of signatures on the official petition on the Welsh Parliament's website was more than enough to trigger the issue to be looked at. The change follows a recommendation from the UK National Screening Committee. Last week, Public Health Wales apologised for causing "concern" over how it explained changes to screenings following its announcement. Read full story Source: BBC News, 10 January 2022
  4. News Article
    People with some of the deadliest forms of cancer are being diagnosed later than ever as a result of disruption to healthcare caused by the Covid pandemic, campaigners have warned. Stomach, lung, pancreatic, brain, stomach and oesophageal cancers have some of the poorest long-term survival rates and have always been disproportionately diagnosed late following an emergency hospital admission. However, campaigners are concerned that the poor prognoses for these patients have been exacerbated by factors such as a reluctance to attend A&E or bother GPs during the pandemic, and by bottlenecks in the numbers of patients waiting for tests such as CT scans or endoscopy. A drive to raise awareness of the symptoms for these cancers – which are not subject to any routine screening programmes – along with a push for more investment into research for treatments has been launched today to mark the first Less Survivable Cancers Awareness Day. Dawn Crosby, head of Scotland and Northern Ireland for Pancreatic Cancer UK and a member of the Less Survivable Cancers Taskforce, said: “We know that delays in diagnosis lead to much poorer outcomes for patients with these rapidly-advancing cancers. We also know the trauma associated with receiving a diagnosis in an emergency setting for both patients and families." “These cancers are currently difficult or impossible to treat at later stages and the time from diagnosis to death is often brutally short compared to more survivable cancers. “The situation is critical and has been exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic. The Taskforce is calling for a significant increase in research funding, as well as a commitment to increasing resources for early diagnosis for less survivable cancers so we can close the deadly cancer gap.” Read full story Source: The Herald, 11 January 2022
  5. News Article
    Screening for prostate cancer could be possible in the next five years, according to one of the UK's leading experts. Prof Ros Eeles, from the Institute of Cancer Research, said advances in genetics and medical imaging were making it possible. About 50,000 people in the UK are diagnosed with the disease each year, and nearly 12,000 die. NHS England said prostate screening had been notoriously tricky. Despite it being one of the most common cancers, there is no equivalent of the regular mammograms that detect breast cancer. There is a blood test that looks for levels of a protein called prostate specific antigen (PSA). But it is controversial and the UK's National Screening Committee does not recommend it. PSA tests are used to guide doctors and help monitor tumours. But using them to screen healthy people means they miss some cancers and cannot distinguish between people with high PSA levels who need treatment and those who do not. Read full story Source: BBC News, 27 December 2021
  6. News Article
    Swift action is needed from the Scottish Government to prevent a “cancer catastrophe”, campaigners have claimed, as new figures showed the NHS has again failed to meet a key waiting times standard. Ministers have set the target of having 95% of patients begin treatment within 62 days of being referred for help because cancer is suspected. But the latest data showed another decline in performance against this in the period July to September, with only 83.1% beginning treatment in this timeframe – down from 84.1% in the previous quarter and below the 87.3% that was achieved in July to September last year. None of Scotland’s health boards met the goal of starting to treat patients within two months of referral – and nor was this target achieved for any cancer types. The latest figures from Public Health Scotland showed that in NHS Orkney, only two out of five (40%) of patients referred with an urgent suspicion of cancer began treatment within two months, the lowest rate in Scotland. And less than three quarters (71.8%) of those suspected of having bowel cancer began treatment within two days, compared to 76 per cent of those with cervical cancer, 91.5% of those with lung cancer and 92.7% of those with breast cancer. It comes as the number of people being referred to help increased by almost a third from the same time last year. Read full story Source: The Scotsman, 14 December 2021
  7. News Article
    Health experts have expressed fears over the impact tighter Covid restrictions in England could have on cancer patients as alarming new figures reveal that the number taking part in clinical trials plummeted by almost 60% during the pandemic. Almost 40,000 cancer patients in England were “robbed” of the chance to take part in life-saving trials during the first year of the coronavirus crisis, according to a report by the Institute of Cancer Research (ICR), which said COVID-19 had compounded longstanding issues of trial funding, regulation and access. Figures obtained from the National Institute for Health Research by the ICR show that the number of patients recruited on to clinical trials for cancer in England fell to 27,734 in 2020-21, down 59% from an average of 67,057 over the three years previously. The number of patients recruited for trials fell for almost every type of cancer analysed. Health experts said the relentless impact of Covid on the ability of doctors and scientists to run clinical trials was denying many thousands of cancer patients access to the latest treatment options and delaying the development of cutting-edge drugs. Read full story Source: The Guardian, 9 December 2021
  8. News Article
    The NHS may be missing more than 9 million referrals, while patients face a “postcode lottery” for cancer treatment and routine operations, a parliament watchdog has warned. Millions of patients have either avoided or been unable to obtain healthcare during the pandemic leaving the NHS with a potential unknown backlog of operations, which could push the national waiting list to 12 million by 2025. A report from the government’s National Audit Office today also warned patients across England are facing a postcode lottery in terms of waits with some hospital waiting lists far larger than others following the pandemic. Eve Byrne, head of campaigns and public affairs, at Macmillan Cancer Support, said: “This report confirms what we hear day in, day out from people living with cancer. Chronic staffing shortages are already having a devastating impact on cancer patients, and we have major concerns that is only set to worsen without urgent action. She said the government’s plan to tackle operations backlog must be backed up by steps to ensure enough nurses staff. “Without these critical pieces of the puzzle, we risk increasing numbers of people facing later diagnoses, poorer care and potentially worse chances of survival. This has to change,” she added. Read full story Source: The Independent, 1 December 2021
  9. News Article
    Soaring numbers of women are being diagnosed with advanced breast cancer, undermining their chances of survival, because of Covid’s disruption of NHS care, a charity has warned. The number of women being diagnosed with the disease at stage 4 is as much as 48% higher in some months than expected, with the pandemic to blame, says Macmillan Cancer Support. At the same time, fewer women are being confirmed as having breast cancer at stage 1, when their chances of responding well to treatment and living longer are much higher. Macmillan estimates that there is now a backlog of 47,300 people across the UK who have not yet been diagnosed with some form of cancer, as a direct result of Covid. They include people who could not access care in the usual way because many NHS services were scaled back, and also those who were too scared to seek help or did not want to add to the pressure the health service was already under. None have had a confirmed diagnosis of cancer, though some may be undergoing tests or screening. Steven McIntosh, Executive Director of Advocacy and Communications at Macmillan Cancer Support, says: “Nearly two years into the pandemic, there is still a mountain of almost 50,000 people who are missing a cancer diagnosis. Thousands more are already facing delays and disruption as they go through treatment. While hard-working healthcare professionals continue to do all they can to diagnose and treat patients on time, they are fighting an uphill battle. Cancer patients are stuck, waiting in a system that doesn’t have the capacity to treat them fast enough, let alone deal with the backlog of thousands who have yet to come forward.” “The Government has promised an NHS Elective Recovery Plan. This must show how it will tackle spiralling pressures on cancer services. It has never been more crucial to boost NHS capacity to treat and support everybody with cancer, so people receive the critical care they need now and in the years to come.” Read full story Source: The Guardian, 26 November 2021
  10. News Article
    London’s fragmented children’s cancer services will finally be reformed following a decade of delays and allegations of cover-up by senior officials. NHS England has said it will adopt recommendations that will see the capital’s services brought up to standards already common across the rest of the country, with children’s cancer centres needing to be based in hospitals with full paediatric intensive care units. The changes will be imposed “with no exceptions or special arrangements permitted,” it said in a letter yesterday. This means the Royal Marsden’s children’s service at its base in Sutton, south London, will have to move to a new hospital. Currently sick children who deteriorate at the Marsden’s site have to be rushed by ambulance to St George’s Hospital 40 minutes away. More than 330 children were transferred from the Marsden to other hospitals between 2000 and 2015 and in one year 22 children were transferred for intensive care a total of 31 times, with some experiencing at least three transfers individually. The changes will also affect cancer care at University College London Hospital which links with Great Ormond Street Children’s Hospital. The world-renowned Royal Marsden trust, whose chief executive Dame Cally Palmer is also NHS England’s national cancer director, was at the centre of a cover-up scandal before the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2019, the Health Service Journal revealed a major report, commissioned by NHS bosses in London following the deaths of several children, had been “buried” by NHS England. Read full story Source: The Independent, 12 November 2021
  11. News Article
    Health experts have raised the alarm over “serious” delays in diagnosing children and young people with cancer, as a study reveals the number found to have the disease during the pandemic fell by almost a fifth. The University of Oxford found a “substantial reduction in childhood, teenage and young adult cancer detection” in England last year. The research, being presented on Friday at the National Cancer Research Institute (NCRI) festival, showed a 17% drop in cases diagnosed in the under-25s last year compared with previous years. The impact of Covid on adults with cancer is well known. However, previously little has been known about the toll on younger patients. As well as the fall in the overall numbers of children diagnosed with cancer, researchers found that even those whose cancer was spotted last year were more likely to have been diagnosed only after being admitted to intensive care. That suggests long delays in accessing care may have made them much sicker, experts say. Read full story Source: The Guardian, 12 November 2021
  12. News Article
    Artificial intelligence (AI) systems being developed to diagnose skin cancer run the risk of being less accurate for people with dark skin, research suggests. The potential of AI has led to developments in healthcare, with some studies suggesting image recognition technology based on machine learning algorithms can classify skin cancers as successfully as human experts. NHS trusts have begun exploring AI to help dermatologists triage patients with skin lesions. But researchers say more needs to be done to ensure the technology benefits all patients, after finding that few freely available image databases that could be used to develop or “train” AI systems for skin cancer diagnosis contain information on ethnicity or skin type. Those that do have very few images of people with dark skin. Dr David Wen, first author of the study from the University of Oxford, said: “You could have a situation where the regulatory authorities say that because this algorithm has only been trained on images in fair-skinned people, you’re only allowed to use it for fair-skinned individuals, and therefore that could lead to certain populations being excluded from algorithms that are approved for clinical use." “Alternatively, if the regulators are a bit more relaxed and say: ‘OK, you can use it [on all patients]’, the algorithms may not perform as accurately on populations who don’t have that many images involved in training.” That could bring other problems including risking avoidable surgery, missing treatable cancers and causing unnecessary anxiety, the team said. Read full story Source: The Guardian, 9 November 2021
  13. News Article
    The NHS vaccination programme to prevent cervical cancer has so far stopped thousands of women from developing the disease and experiencing pre-cancerous changes to cells, a study has found. In the first proof that the programme launched in England 13 years ago is saving lives, the Cancer Research UK-funded study found that cervical cancer rates in women offered the vaccine between the ages of 12 and 13 (now in their 20s) were 87% lower than in an unvaccinated population. Researchers said cases in this age group, which are rare, dropped from about 50 per year to just 5. There were also reductions in cervical cancer rates of 62% in women offered vaccination between the ages of 14 and 16, and 34% in women aged 16 to 18 when vaccination was introduced. Professor Peter Sasieni, lead study author, from King’s College London, said: “It’s been incredible to see the impact of HPV vaccination and now we can prove it prevented hundreds of women from developing cancer in England. Read full story Source: The Guardian, 4 November 2021
  14. News Article
    About 1,600 fewer people than expected were diagnosed with the three most common cancers during the first nine months of the Covid pandemic. Public Health Scotland (PHS) has attempted to work out how restrictions put in place at the start of coronavirus affected diagnosis of the disease. The statistics show that breast cancer diagnosis was down by 19%, bowel cancer by 25% and lung cancer by 9%. The data also showed cancer was not being diagnosed at the earliest stages. This is when treatment is most successful. Cancer Research UK called for urgent action to prevent progress on cancer survival going backwards. David Ferguson, from Cancer Research UK in Scotland, said the PHS report reinforced fears that opportunities to diagnose cancer at an early stage were missed during the pandemic. He said: "Urgent action is needed. Cancer survival wasn't good enough before the pandemic. Too many people are waiting far too long for diagnosis and treatment so this must be addressed." He called for a "road map" to tackle staff shortages and backlogs. "If swift action isn't taken, our fear is that cancer survival in Scotland could go backwards," he said. Read full story Source: BBC News, 3 November 2021
  15. News Article
    A decade after scientists identified a link between certain implants and cancer, the US Food and Drug Administration has ordered “black box” warnings and a new checklist of risks for patients to review. Federal regulators have placed so-called black box warnings on breast implant packaging and told manufacturers to sell the devices only to health providers who review the potential risks with patients before surgery. Both the warnings and a new checklist that advises patients of the risks and side effects state that breast implants have been linked to a cancer of the immune system and to a host of other chronic medical conditions, including autoimmune diseases, joint pain, mental confusion, muscle aches and chronic fatigue. Startlingly, the checklist identifies particular types of patients who are at higher risk for illness after breast implant surgery. The group includes breast cancer patients who have had, or plan to have, chemotherapy or radiation treatments. That represents a large percentage of women who until now were encouraged to have breast reconstruction with implants following their treatment. Reactions to the new requirements were mixed. While some doctors welcomed the new warning system, others worried that the potential risks and side effects would not be conveyed adequately by plastic surgeons who were eager to reassure patients the procedure is safe and that the new checklist would be handled in a dismissive manner. But Dr. Mark Clemens, a professor at M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston who serves a liaison to the F.D.A. for the American Society of Plastic Surgeons Society, said the black box warning and checklist represented “a huge step forward for patient safety and implants.” Read full story Source: The New York Times, 27 October 2021
  16. News Article
    The NHS and private hospitals need to improve how they work together after the death of an NHS patient treated privately during the pandemic, a watchdog has warned. An investigation by the Healthcare Safety Investigation Branch (HSIB) found some private hospitals took on more complex patients than they were used to, while problems with communication and confusion over responsibilities created safety risks. It has called on the Care Quality Commission to do more to inspect how the two sectors work together and how patients are transferred between hospitals safely. It launched an inquiry after the death of a patient, known as Rodney, aged 58, who was due to have keyhole surgery to remove part of his bowel due to cancer. His NHS operation was cancelled and rebooked at a nearby private hospital after cancer services were transferred to the independent hospital due to COVID-19. Rodney was asked to sign a consent form for open bowel surgery, rather than the less invasive keyhole procedure, due to guidance at the time around a "potentially increased risk of COVID-19 transmission with laparoscopic surgery", the HSIB said. The cancerous part of his bowel was removed but eight days later his condition he deteriorated rapidly and was transferred to the local hospital so he could receive intensive care - which was not available at the private hospital. When he arrived at the NHS hospital, a scan and more surgery showed a leak in his bowel which led to sepsis and organ failure. He died later that day. As a result of the case, the HSIB launched a wider investigation into NHS surgical services being carried out in independent hospitals. Read full story Source: The Independent, 28 October 2021
  17. News Article
    A drug developed over 20 years ago to treat cancer could help patients living with crippling pain, according to new research. Kenpaullone switches on a gene that douses chronic inflammation, say scientists. Experiments on mice and humans found it was remarkably successful at alleviating nerve injury and bone tumour symptoms. The US team is hopeful clinical trials will see equally successful results in humans suffering a host of conditions. Up to 8 million people in the UK live with chronic pain. Major causes include arthritis and spine damage. Lead author Professor Wolfgang Liedtke said: “New drugs and other therapies against chronic pain need to be safe, i.e., the fewer side effects the better. “It’s especially important they be non-addictive and non-sedative, while being effective against nerve injury pain and cancer pain, preferably with a minimal time to official approval." Read full story Source: The Independent, 27 October 2021
  18. News Article
    Progress in clearing the NHS cancer treatment backlog in England has gone into reverse amid high Covid cases and staff shortages, analysis suggests. The NHS has been striving to catch up with the pandemic backlog of cancer care but the analysis by Macmillan Cancer Support of official data suggests the drive has recently suffered a setback, with growing numbers of potential cancer diagnoses missed. Four key cancer measures have fallen back, with two dropping to their worst ever recorded level. Figures published by NHS England, and analysed by Macmillan for the Guardian, show the number of patients starting treatment in August following a decision to treat fell to 25,800. The figure was above 27,000 in June and July. The proportion of patients who began treatment within one month of the decision to treat fell to 93.7% – the lowest percentage ever recorded. Data published last week also shows that in August there was a record-high number of patients forced to wait for more than two months after an urgent referral from their GP before they started cancer treatment. Macmillan said it was concerned that rising Covid hospitalisations were making it “even harder for the system to cope”. Efforts to tackle the backlog are also being hit by a shortage of cancer nurses, the charity said. Steven McIntosh, the executive director of advocacy at Macmillan, said: “We know that many patients are entering an overstretched system that was on its knees even before the pandemic. This risks a perfect storm, as the system experiences a considerable influx of patients alongside an overwhelmed workforce struggling to provide the care and support that people urgently need.” Read full story Source: The Guardian, 22 October 2021
  19. News Article
    Twenty-four children in Northern Ireland with confirmed or suspected cancers had to wait over a year for a first appointment, a review has found. The figure, for April, is in a review of child health waiting lists by the Northern Ireland Commissioner for Children and Young People. More than 17,000 children were waiting more than a year to see a hospital consultant for the first time. The commissioner said the waiting times were "terrifying". The review examined official waiting list data for children's health services not published as part of the Department of Health's statistical bulletins. Koulla Yiasouma said that waiting for any health service treatment can and does have a "profound impact on a child's health outcomes, emotional and mental well-being". She said it was "shocking not only for the child but their families too". "Each and every single one of them is a child and each and every single one of them is a child whose life has almost been put on hold, and a family whose life has been put on hold, because they are not getting the most fundamental right of healthcare that they deserve," she said. Read full story Source: BBC News, 19 October 2021
  20. News Article
    The programme of giving third Covid vaccinations to people with compromised immune systems has been a “chaotic failure”, charities have said, with fewer than half of those eligible contacted about a third jab before an NHS deadline this month. Surveys by Blood Cancer UK and Kidney Care UK found that for both groups of patients, between 55% and 60% had yet to be invited to get a third injection, seen as particularly vital for conditions which affect people’s immune systems, as they are generally less protected by two jabs. The charities said many of those who responded were desperately worried and were struggling to get information about a third vaccination. Some people with blood cancer had resorted to going to vaccination centres without an appointment, pleading for a third dose, Blood Cancer UK said. Official figures show there were 45,066 confirmed new Covid cases in the UK on Thursday, the highest daily total since mid-July. Kidney Care UK said the poor communication highlighted what seemed to be a “woeful lack of preparation” for the programme, the guidance for which was agreed on 2 September. The third dose programme for people with compromised immune systems is separate to the wider rollout of booster jabs being offered to everyone over 50, and others with clinical vulnerabilities, which started on 15 September. Read full story Source: The Guardian, 15 October 2021
  21. News Article
    Potentially life-saving cancer operations have been put on hold at a major London NHS trust because of the number of beds taken by Covid patients. King's College Hospital Trust has cancelled all "Priority 2" operations - those doctors judge need to be carried out within 28 days. Cancer Research UK said such cancellations did not appear to be widespread across the country. And surgery has not been stopped on the same scale as during the first wave. Rebecca Thomas, who has had her bowel cancer surgery at King's College Hospital "cancelled indefinitely", told the BBC she felt like she had been left "in limbo". Until she has surgery her tumour cannot be studied to see how aggressive it is, and so she won't know until then how significant this wait will turn out to be. A spokesperson for the Trust, which mainly serves patients in south London, said: "Due to the large increase in patients being admitted with COVID-19, including those requiring intensive care, we have taken the difficult decision to postpone all elective procedures, with the exception of cases where a delay would cause immediate harm. "A small number of cancer patients due to be operated on this week have had their surgery postponed, with patients being kept under close review by senior doctors." Read full story Source: 5 January 2021
  22. News Article
    NHS leaders are holding fresh talks with private healthcare groups to try to secure surgery for urgent cancer patients in London, as the covid-19 second wave causes hospitals in the capital to make widespread cancellations, HSJ understands. In recent weeks, pivotal independent sector providers have declined to do the procedures for the payments on offer. In the spring covid peak, the NHS block-booked private capacity in London, but now only small, spot contracts are in place for this work. Under the previous deal, rules meant low-priority private patients could not be treated ahead of NHS patients who needed surgery urgently. But now providers can prioritise their private patients as they see fit. HSJ understands NHS England, under pressure from the Treasury, was not willing to pay the prices asked by the three private providers. As London NHS hospitals continue to fill with covid patients, particularly in critical care, they are able to do few cancer procedures beyond the most urgent category, P1, and are suspending many procedures in the lower categories, including P2, sources said. P2 is defined as patients who need treatment within four weeks. One senior clinical manager in the city told HSJ on Monday: “Cancellations [are] rife. We have stopped almost all operating in our elective hub apart from P1 [patients assessed as needing surgery within three days]. “The independent sector has not opened up capacity and lifestyle operations [are] still planned [in private hospitals].” Read full story (paywalled) Source: HSJ, 5 January 2021
  23. News Article
    Cancer surgery in London is under threat as rising covid admissions put pressure on services that no longer have back-up capacity from the independent sector, HSJ has learned. Research by HSJ has discovered that NHS England ended contracts with HCA, The London Clinic and the Cromwell Hospital at the end of August, after concerns about underutilisation. Under the previous deal with the private sector, rules were in place to make sure low-priority private patients were not treated ahead of NHS patients who needed surgery urgently. HCA and The Cromwell have confirmed the contracts were ended in August and were not renewed. The London Clinic did not respond to a request for comment. As of 19 December, there were 2,909 covid inpatients being treated in London hospitals, a rise of 39% over the previous seven days. Barts Health Trust and Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Trust in the east of the city are under particular pressure. Should the number of covid patients reach a level that requires the capital to instigate surge protocols, theatre space set aside for cancer operations is likely to be commandeered. Under this scenario, the NHS in the capital would no longer have the option to transfer cancer patients to private facilities as it did during the first wave of the pandemic. A senior London-based source said: “This is a real and imminent threat to London’s ability to perform cancer surgery." Read full story (paywalled) Source: HSJ, 21 December 2020
  24. News Article
    The waiting list for cancer patients has almost doubled over the last seven months, according to internal NHS data which has never been made public. A slide set seen by HSJ suggests the total number of patients waiting for cancer treatment on the 62-day pathway has increased from around 90,000 in mid-May, to around 160,000 at the start of December. However, the data suggests the NHS has made good progress in treating patients waiting the longest. Read full story (paywalled) Source: HSJ, 15 December 2020
  25. News Article
    A hospital has apologised after an elderly cancer patient tested positive for coronavirus, having been left in a ward with another patient suffering from COVID-19 for several days. The Aneurin Bevan University Health Board, which serves the Royal Gwent Hospital in Newport, Wales, has confirmed that it is dealing with an outbreak of the virus at the hospital. It comes after Lesley Pook accused the hospital of “locking” her father James ‘Jim’ Pook and others in a ward with a coronavirus patient and “waiting for them all to develop symptoms”. Read full story Source: The Independent, 9 December 2020
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