The plan for addressing the buildup of patients awaiting elective care in the UK after the COVID-19 outbreak was recently released by the NHS England’s Elective Recovery Taskforce. The focus on tackling this backlog holds particular importance for patients dealing with cancer. An initial estimate by a Cancer Research UK report during the early stages of the pandemic indicated that approximately 2.4 million people in the UK were awaiting cancer screening, testing, or treatment. Subsequent analysis from a think tank in 2021 projected that the backlog in the cancer care system might persist until 2033, even with a 5% increase in activity compared to pre-pandemic levels.

A recent analysis by the British Medical Association, using data from NHS England, highlighted the mounting backlog across the healthcare sector. This analysis revealed that the healthcare system is struggling to meet the set timeframes for referrals, screenings, and treatments, thus jeopardizing the achievement of NHS England’s cancer recovery targets. Notably, the percentage of cancer patients receiving their first treatment within two months of screening was only 62.2% in June 2023, significantly below the expected standard of 90%. Similar deficiencies were observed in the healthcare systems of other UK nations.

The Elective Recovery Taskforce emphasized the need for concerted efforts in four key areas: enabling patients to make informed choices, spearheading post-pandemic recovery, ensuring long-term sustainability of the system, and implementing and surpassing the proposed plan. Corresponding changes aligned with these focus areas have already been unveiled. For instance, the My Planned Care platform, launched in 2022, is designed to provide assistance to patients waiting for referrals or treatment. This platform will present patients referred by their general practitioners with a shortlist of at least five healthcare providers, selected based on factors such as provider quality, proximity, and waiting time.

The report also suggests increased involvement of the private sector in healthcare to alleviate the cancer backlog. The UK Government’s announcement in August signaled an expansion of the private sector’s role in addressing the NHS England’s backlog, with hopes of augmenting capacity and relaxing regulations for a more flexible future use of private sector resources. The Labour Party has expressed support for this approach.1

Read more here.

References

  1. The Lancet. Volume 24. September 2023.

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