Macmillan Cancer Support responds to latest NHS England Cancer Waiting Times

Gemma Peters, Chief Executive at Macmillan Cancer Support says:

“The cancer waiting times figures released today for England show that too many people are still waiting too long to be diagnosed with cancer and start treatment. I hear from patients and their loved ones every day who tell me how this is causing them unbearable anxiety and worry, on top of everything else a diagnosis brings.

“The new UK government has already acknowledged the NHS is broken. Despite the best efforts of hardworking healthcare professionals, cancer care is in crisis and UK survival rates are as much as 25 years behind other countries.

“But it doesn’t have to be this way. A funded, long-term and — crucially — cross-government approach could revolutionise how we treat cancer. There’s an opportunity here to make real change. We welcome that, and we are ready to work with the new government as they develop their health delivery and reform plans and review NHS performance. Together we can revolutionise cancer care, ensuring everyone living with cancer in the UK receives the best care in the world.”

Fact box (data analysis):

• Two of the three national cancer waiting time targets were missed again in May and performance against the 62-day target was worse than in the previous month, showing that NHS cancer services in England are still struggling under intense pressure[i]
• While the number of people with cancer having treatment on time increased in May 2024, the 31-day target was still missed and there were more than 4,500 times when people with cancer waited too long for the treatment they need[ii]
• Separate official NHS data shows the number of people in England with a confirmed diagnosis of cancer and decision to treat who were still waiting to start treatment more than two months after their urgent referral remained above 3,000 throughout May 2024[iii]
• Recent Macmillan analysis shows 2023 was the worst year on record for cancer treatment delays in England[iv], and that UK cancer survival rates are up to 25 years behind other European countries[v]
• Other recent figures from Macmillan Cancer Support show that more than half of people having cancer treatment in the UK (59%) are worried about general pressures on the NHS affecting their chances of survival[vi]
• Previous Macmillan analysis also shows that over the past 10 years, the number of people with cancer waiting longer than a month to start treatment in England has increased at a rate 5 times greater than the total number of people starting treatment[vii]

[i] NHS England. Cancer waiting times. CWT CRS — National Time Series Oct 2009 — May 2024 with Revisions. Both the 31-day and 62-day targets were missed in May 2024. Performance against the 62-day target was 65.8% in May 2024, compared with 66.6% in April 2024

[ii] As per ref 1. Performance against the 31-day target in May 2024 was 91.8% and there were 4,566 instances when people with a confirmed diagnosis of cancer waited more than a month for treatment from the decision to treat or earliest clinically appropriate date

[iii] NHS England. Management information on cancer.

[iv] Macmillan Cancer Support analysis of official statistics. Source: NHS England. Cancer waiting times. Based on a combination of analysis of from the following sources: https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/cancer-waiting-times/ and https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/cancer-waiting-times/#cwt-statistics-up-to-september-2023. In 2023, over 30,000 people newly diagnosed with cancer in England waited more than a month to start treatment following the clinical decision to do so, the highest annual figure since current records began in 2009. Performance against the 31-day treatment target was worse in every month of 2023 than in the same month of 2022, and overall annual performance has fallen each successive year from 2017 onwards

[v] Macmillan Cancer Support. UK cancer care ‘stuck in the noughties’. June 2024

[vi] Macmillan Cancer Support/YouGov survey of 2,099 adults in the UK who have had a cancer diagnosis, including 213 people going through treatment. Fieldwork was undertaken between 2nd January and 22nd January 2024. The survey was carried out online. The figures have been weighted and are representative of people living with cancer in the UK (aged 18+). Survey question was as follows: How worried, if at all, are you about the following? ‘General pressures on the NHS affecting my chances of survival’

[vii] As per ref 6. Refers to people starting their first treatment for a new cancer diagnosis only. The monthly average for the number of people who waited more than a month to start treatment following the clinical decision to do so has increased by 7.23 times when comparing 2023 with 2013 (2,628 people per month on average compared with 364 people per month on average). In comparison, the monthly average for the total number of people starting treatment has increased between the same time periods by 1.36 times (28,371 compared with 20,877, respectively). 7.23 divided by 1.36 = 5.3