Overstretched NHS putting cancer patients at risk, ombudsman warns

An overstretched and understaffed NHS with exhausted workers under “unsustainable pressure” is putting cancer patients at risk, England’s health ombudsman has warned.

Rob Behrens is now calling for “concerted and sustained action” from the government to allow NHS leaders to put patient safety first.

It comes as Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) figures revealed 1,019 investigations relating to cancer were carried out between April 2020 and December 2023. Of the complaints, 185 cases were upheld or partly upheld.

The most common issues involved the likes of treatment delays and misdiagnosis, while the majority of investigations involved patients with lung cancer, breast cancer and colorectal cancer.

Other concerns included poor communication in cancer care, as well as referrals, end-of life care and how organisations handled complaints.

The health ombudsman said: “Everyone deserves safe and effective care. But patient safety will always be at risk in environments that are understaffed and where staff are exhausted and under unsustainable pressure.”

The latest figures from NHS England showed 74.2% of patients urgently referred for suspected cancer in December 2023 were diagnosed or had cancer ruled out within 28 days, behind the 75% target but up from 71.9% the previous month.

However, analysis by the BBC published last month claimed cancer waiting times last year in England were the worst on record, with only 64.1% of patients starting treatment within 62 days of cancer being suspected, meaning nearly 100,000 waited longer than they should.

Mr Behrens called for “concerted and sustained action from government to make sure NHS leaders can prioritise the safety of patients and are accountable for doing so”.

He added: “A key part of this is investing in the workforce, for today and for the long-term, including providing full funding for the long-term workforce plan.”

John Eastwood, 79, was left “disgusted” at the care his wife of 54 years Sandra received after going to York Hospital with abdominal pain in June 2020.

CT scans showed a mass in the grandmother’s abdomen, which medics put down medication she was taking following a heart valve replacement.

She was discharged, but returned to hospital in May 2021 when her symptoms got worse, and was eventually diagnosed with gastro-intestinal stromal tumour, a rare cancer of the digestive system.

Mrs Eastwood was told the cancer was terminal in January 2022 and died four months later. Mr Eastwood described his late wife as “wonderful”.

“I feel absolutely disgusted with the ‘care’ she received from the hospital,” he added. “They didn’t investigate the scan results and just put it down to Warfarin straight away.

“It seemed like the medical teams did not communicate with each other and everything felt very disjointed. They left her in agony for months before she died.”

The PHSO recently closed its investigation on Mrs Eastwood’s death, claiming the delay meant she missed out on the chance of treatment which had has 95% survival rate.

Her scans were not interpreted correctly, the probe found, and the images should have been reviewed by a multi-disciplinary, with further investigations of the mass performed within three months.

Mr Behrens added: “What happened to Mrs Eastwood was unacceptable and her family’s grief will no doubt have been compounded by knowing that mistakes were made in her care.

“Her case also shows, in the most tragic of ways, that while some progress has been made on my recommendations to improve imaging services, it is not enough and more must be done. Government must act now to prioritise this issue and protect more patients from harm.”

A spokesperson for York and Scarborough Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust said they “fully accept” the ombudsman’s findings and apologise for the distress caused to Mrs Eastwood and her family.

They added that the trust has made a number of improvements and agreed to change its practice following the case.

Sir Julian Hartley, chief executive at NHS Providers, said: “These findings lay bare the alarming impact of stretched resources on patients.

“At a time when demand for services has never been higher, the NHS is grappling with over 110,000 staff shortages.

“Trust leaders are doing all they can to ensure timely, high-quality care for patients, their number one priority, but their efforts need to be backed nationally.

“The patient ramifications of pared-back staff and outdated equipment and IT systems must not be sidelined.”

Sir Julian added that trust leaders welcomed the NHS funding announcements in Chancellor Jeremy Hunt’s Budget last week, but warned that that “deep-rooted challenges require long-term solutions”.

“The government needs to commit to fully funding the Long Term Workforce Plan and secure sustained investment for capital and digital infrastructure,” he said.

“This way, the NHS will be properly equipped to deliver the high-quality care that patients need and deserve.”

The charity Breast Cancer Now called for “urgent action” to speed up diagnosis and treatment of the disease.

Chief executive Baroness Delyth Morgan added: “This worrying report is yet another warning to the Government of the consequences of failing to tackle the crisis facing cancer care in England.

“Breast cancer care is on the brink of disaster, with breast screening uptake in England tragically falling short of targets, and long waiting times preventing many women from starting potentially life-saving treatment on time.”

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