Doctors warned today that cancer care will be sacrificed if Covid cases continue spiraling.
Professor Mike Griffin is a cancer surgeon and said that he is concerned that care ‘will take another hit in the coming week over winter’ due the NHS pressures.
Increasing numbers of people attending A&E, a lack of hospital beds and nursing and social care shortages could cause problems delivering care, he said.
Professor Griffin stated that surgery and treatment for cancer were “paused” during the first wave. He said that it would not happen again.
Professor Pat Price, a consultant in clinical oncology, stated that cancer doctors have been instructed to ensure that a tenth are available for redeployment to the NHS frontline this year.
Today, a patient revealed that she was faced with ‘Covid-related barriers’ while receiving treatment for stage four of breast cancer.
Professor Mike Griffin (pictured below), a doctor who specializes in cancer, expressed concern that care will suffer again this winter due to the NHS pressures. Professor Pat Price (pictured right), who is a consultant clinical oncologist, said that doctors treating cancer have been instructed to ensure that 10% of their staff are available for redeployment this winter to the NHS frontline.
Philippa Hetherington, a patient with stage four breast cancer, said that she had ‘definitely had Covid related obstacles’ while receiving care.
Professor Griffin spoke to members of the Health and Social Care Committee to discuss the inquiry into cancer services. He stated that cancer surgery is “back up and running and very close to pre-pandemic levels.”
He added: ‘I am concerned that with the present wave with the increased footfall through A&E, the problem with nursing care and beds being closed and not being available, and social care issues of not getting patients out, the number of beds in the hospitals, I am worried that cancer surgery will once again take a hit in coming weeks over winter.’
Rising numbers of patients have been attending A&E in recent weeks amid struggles getting GP appointments.
And social care providers had to reject requests to take over care from patients discharged from hospital due to staff shortages, leaving some patients stuck in hospital.
Professor Griffin, who is also President at Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh, said more institutions like the Royal Marsden – two hospital in Chelsea, London and Sutton, Surrey, that are dedicated to cancer diagnosis, treatment, research and education – so cancer care can continue during health crises like the pandemic.
As it stands, the majority of cancer treatment is done at NHS hospitals.
Professor Griffin explained that although cancer care was still being provided in the US and other parts of Europe, it was “paused” in the UK due to a lack of the right setup.
In order to ease pressures, important cancer staff could be moved to other parts on the NHS in winter.
Professor Price stated to MPs that the main problem was that the cancer was not ring-fenced and prioritised in the same way it should have been during the first wave. [is not].
“Some of our oncologists were instructed over the summer that they would redeploy 10% of their staff for the winter. This is still being done.
She said that during earlier waves of the pandemic, “very specialist” radiotherapy staff were redeployed to assist in mortuary and to remove gowns from patients.
Professor Price said, “I know the work was necessary but it was just that idea that cancer was okay to go.”
Philippa Hetherington is a patient with stage 4 breast cancer that has spread her brain, lungs and brain. She told MPs that she had ‘definitely experienced Covid-related obstacles’ while receiving treatment.
Her cancer doctor was moved to the Covid frontline last winter as the second wave was peaking. She could not obtain a biopsy to determine more about her cancer because essentially all of the lung specialists were taking up the Covid peak.
Dr Hetherington is a University College London lecturer on Modern Eurasian History. She said she was surprised that her scans and tests were rescheduled as cases rose. She believed that cancer services would be’somewhat protected’.
This comes as NHS England figures earlier in the month revealed that the backlog for hospital services soared to a record 5.72million in August, the most recent month statistics are available. Hospital bosses claimed that it will take five to clear the long waiting list created by the pandemic.
Data also showed that 210.931 urgent cancer referrals were made in August by GPs in England, up 24 percent from the 170.036 reported last August.
The equivalent figure was 200,317 for August 2019, a year that is not a pandemic year.
Urgent referrals where breast cancer symptoms were present — though not initially suspected — were up from 9,486 in August last year to 11,179 in August 2021.
Minesh Ptel, Macmillan Cancer Support’s head of policy, stated that there is still much to be done to get the services of cancer back on track and to tackle the backlog.
“The Government must urgently provide long-term investment necessary to grow and support cancer workforce, which was severely understretched even before this pandemic.”