Patients facing long wait for bowel-cancer results in Mansfield and Ashfield

Now charities are calling for investment across the country to reduce waiting times which can threaten a patient’s chances of survival.

The figures have been released by NHS England and cover the Sherwood Forest Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, which runs King’s Mill Hospital in Sutton and Mansfield Community Hospital, as well as services from Ashfield Health Village in Kirkby.

In June, only 171 of 306 patients (56 per cent) with suspected bowel-cancer at the trust had received a diagnosis or an all-clear within four weeks of an urgent referral by their GP.

Of the 44 per cent who had to wait longer, 45 did not receive their test result for at least 62 days.

And the data showed that patients with suspected bowel-cancer were more likely to wait longer for four weeks than those being tested for breast, lung or skin cancers after an urgent referral to Sherwood Forest.

From October, NHS trusts will be required to provide results within a month to 75 per cent of all suspected cancer patients as part of a new faster diagnosis standard.

But charity Bowel Cancer UK fears some will not be able to hit the new target because of staff shortages.

Its chief executive, Genevieve Edwards, said: “Bowel cancer is the UK’s second biggest cancer killer, but it’s treatable and curable, especially if diagnosed early.

"Therefore, it’s tragic that some patients will face poorer outcomes as a result of having to wait too long for tests and treatment.”

Another charity, Cancer Research UK, said long-term investment was needed to fund endoscopies, which are procedures that can diagnose bowel cancer.

Separate NHS England figures show how many people were waiting for an endoscopy in June.

At Sherwood Forest Hospitals Trust, 450 people were on the waiting list, including 113 who had been waiting six weeks or more and 28 who had been on the list for at least 13 weeks.

NHS England admitted that diagnostic services had been “inevitably disrupted” during the pandemic, but added that “we are continuing to tackle the Covid backlog” and near-record numbers had been tested for cancer during June.

Sherwood Forest Hospitals Trust’s chief operating officer, Simon Barton, said: “We are committed to ensuring that patients are given the all-clear or a diagnosis of cancer as quickly as possible.

"In June, 80 per cent of suspected cancer patients were given their test results within 28 days. This puts us in the top third of hospital trusts in the country for delivering the faster diagnosis standard.

“We have seen an increase in bowel-cancer referrals and would encourage patients to contact their GP if they are concerned about any symptoms.

"We continue to prioritise our capacity to meet the needs of all of our cancer and urgent patients. This can differ depending on the type of suspected cancer and the diagnostic options available.

"We recognise that pressure in a particular area can lead to a longer wait than we would want, and we would encourage our patients to attend appointments or contact us in advance if they are unsure about any part of their cancer care.”

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