Macmillan responds to Public Health England’s emergency presentations of cancer data up to December 2020
Responding to Public Health England’s emergency presentations of cancer data up to December 2020, Alexandra Callaghan, Policy Manager at Macmillan Cancer Support, said:
“NHS cancer care is beset by a chronic shortage of staffing and resources. Patients and staff urgently need the Government to do more to fix this problem. It must deliver a long-term, fully-funded plan for the workforce which increases the number of staff and covers training, retention and pay, so the enormous challenges which lie ahead for cancer care can be effectively managed.”
-ENDS-
Emergency presentations fact box:
· Today’s data is further confirmation that fewer people have been diagnosed with cancer than expected since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic
· The number of people admitted to hospital with cancer for the first time between October and December 2020 in England was still nearly 5,000 lower than the across the same period pre-pandemic1 and around 38,000 lower than expected since the start of the pandemic overall2
· There were almost 13,000 people diagnosed with cancer via an emergency presentation in England during October to December 20203 — while this number is broadly similar to the pre-pandemic average, the disease has often reached a late stage by the time of an emergency presentation and people’s chances of survival are affected
· Previous data showed that between July to September 2020, the number of people diagnosed via an emergency presentation soared to the highest on record4
Pre-Covid data on emergency presentations and outcome:
· Under normal circumstances, around 60% of emergency presentations for cancer follow a visit to A&E, while 30% are via an emergency referral from a GP5
· Before Covid-19, people first diagnosed with cancer following an emergency presentation were significantly more likely to be diagnosed with advanced cancer than those diagnosed via other routes. Between 2015 and 2016, more than half (58%) of people diagnosed with cancer following an emergency presentation were diagnosed with stage 4 cancer, compared with just a fifth (22%) of those diagnosed via an urgent two-week-wait referral from their GP6
· Similarly, before Covid-19, people first diagnosed with cancer following an emergency presentation had, on average, significantly lower survival rates. Between 2011 and 2015, one-year survival for those diagnosed via an emergency presentation was just 40%, compared with 85% of those diagnosed following an urgent two-week-wait referral from their GP7
1. From October 2020 to December 2020 there were 64,792 people admitted to hospital for the first time with cancer in England, compared with 69,658 from October 2019 to December 2019. Public Health England. Emergency presentations of cancer: data up to December 2020.
2. As per ref 1, from April 2020 to December 2020, there were 171,461 people admitted to hospital for the first time with cancer in England. The total between April 2019 and December 2019 was 209,200.
3. As per ref 1, from October 2020 to December 2020 there were 12,845 people diagnosed following an emergency presentation.
4. As per ref 1, from July to September 2020, there were 14,813 people diagnosed following an emergency presentation — the highest figure since at least July to September 2015
5. Public Health England’s National Cancer Registration and Analysis Service (NCRAS). Routes to Diagnosis: Exploring Emergency Presentations. Data from 2006–2008. The remaining ~10% of emergency presentations are via other routes, e.g. emergency referral from a different hospital department
6. Public Health England’s National Cancer Registration and Analysis Service (NCRAS). Stage by Routes to Diagnosis, 2015–2016. Figures exclude diagnoses where the stage at diagnosis was not known, which is around 20% of all diagnoses.
Public Health England’s National Cancer Registration and Analysis Service (NCRAS). Survival by cancer site and diagnostic route
