Covid cancer patient backlog could take 12 YEARS to clear, report warns

NHS doctors could spend the next 12 years wading through a backlog of cancer patients, experts warn.

The Institute for Public Policy Research said hospitals will have to do 15 per cent more appointments than usual to keep on top of patient lists.

If they can only bump levels up to five per cent above pre-pandemic levels it could take over a decade – until 2033 – to treat everyone who didn’t get seen during the pandemic as well as all the new patients.

Dr Parth Patel, an NHS doctor and member of the IPPR, said: "The health service faces an enormous backlog of care that threatens to disrupt services for well over a decade. 

"We know every delay poses risks to patients' chances of survival.

"Clearing the cancer care backlog before the next general election looks unlikely with the way the NHS is currently resourced, staffed and organised.

"The funding announced this month is just about enough to keep the health service afloat, but does not provide the funds needed to bring down pandemic backlogs as quickly as possible or transform service quality."

The report added: ";Behind these statistics are thousands of people for whom it will now be too late to cure their cancer."

The IPPR estimated that 19,500 people did not get diagnosed when they should have during the pandemic because there were 369,000 fewer doctors’ referrals.

It said 187,000 courses of chemotherapy were missed, compared to an average year, along with 15,000 radiotherapy sessions.