One in eight patients in the Anglia region fail to get urgent cancer referral within two weeks
Watch a report from the Royal Papworth Hospital by ITV News Anglia's Graham Stothard
One in eight suspected cancer patients in the Anglia region are failing to get an urgent hospital referral within a fortnight.
The NHS in the Anglia region is missing targets for cancer treatment with only 88% being referred to hospital within two weeks. It is expected that 93% of patients would be seen by a specialist within a fortnight of being referred.
It means nearly 9,000 potential cancer patients didn't see a hospital specialist in that crucial period.
It comes as medics at the Royal Papworth Hospital in Cambridge are warning that as many as a fifth of people may not be coming forward to seek help for symptoms that could be cancer.
The latest figures cover the three month period from October to December 2020 after the peak of the first wave of the coronavirus pandemic and as the second wave was beginning to build.
The figures are much higher in some medical units. At the West Suffolk Hospital in Bury St Edmunds, nearly one in three patients does not get a referral within a fortnight.
Another issue is people reluctant to come forward for treatment at all even if they have suspicious symptoms or feel unwell.
Royal Papworth Hospital says it has seen referrals drop by 20%. That translates to around 280 patients, who potentially need treatment, not being seen.
In the first wave of the pandemic, hospitals saw referrals drop by up to 75%. It's not as bad this time, but doctors still worry people are reluctant to come in.
Consultant, Dr Robert Rintoul said: "When Covid first struck there was a lot of concern and reticence about attending hospitals and GP practices.
Patients who saw a specialist after an urgent referral with suspected cancer with two weeks in the Anglia region
69% at the West Suffolk Hospital in Bury St Edmunds
79% at the NW Anglia NHS Trust which covers Peterborough Hospital and Hinchingbrooke Hospital in Huntingdon
81% at the Princess Alexandra Hospital in Harlow
82% at the Norfolk & Norwich Hospital
83% at Milton Keynes Hospital
85% at Bedfordshire Hospitals NHS Trust which includes Bedford Hospital and the Luton & Dunstable
87% at the East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Trust which includes Colchester and Ipswich hospitals
89% at the Mid & South Essex NHS Trust which includes Broomfield, Basildon and Southend hospitals
94% at Addenbrooke's Hospital in Cambridge
96% at Northampton General Hospital
97% at Kettering General Hospital
97% at East & North Hertfordshire NHS Trust which includes the Lister Hospital in Stevenage
97% at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in King's Lynn
98% at the James Paget Hospital in Gorleston, Norfolk
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