NHS struggling to provide safe cancer care, say senior doctors

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Staff shortages are driving up waiting lists in all four UK nations, the Royal College of Radiologists says.

The NHS is struggling to provide safe and effective care for all cancer patients, say senior doctors.

In other parts of the UK, ministers say cancer waiting lists are a priority and extra investment is being made in staff and diagnostic equipment.Carol Fletcher, 57, from Usk in South Wales, says she has faced multiple delays for cancer treatment since being diagnosed last summer. The Royal College of Radiologists describes the situation as a perfect storm - and says the workforce is struggling to keep up.

Just as concerning is an even larger shortage of consultant radiologists - highly trained doctors who interpret scans to diagnose cancer or monitor its progression.The RCR says for each month a patient waits to start cancer treatment, the risk of death is increased by about 10%. "We're having to tell patients all the time that we can't quite treat them as quickly as we would like, or in the way that we'd like, and that's a stressful thing to have to do."Kevin O'Hara, 60, from County Durham, broke five ribs in a motorbike accident last November.

 

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