Delays for breast cancer screenings at Dorset County Hospital

A spokesman for the hospital said it is taking the delays "very seriously" as figures reveal the proportion of suspected breast cancer patients seen on time fell to a record low during December.

It comes as infection controls and increases in breast cancer referrals in October, November and early December led to an increase in waiting times.

NHS England data shows 102 patients with suspected breast cancer were referred by GPs for urgent investigations at Dorset County Hospital in December.

But just three were seen by a consultant within the recommended two-week window – the lowest monthly figure since records began in 2009.

It was also well below the national NHS target for 93 per cent of all cancer patients to be seen within this timeframe.

Charity Breast Cancer Now said the "frightening consequence" of vital targets being missed across England was that more women could be living with the disease without knowing.

The charity is urging women to contact their GP if they find any new or unusual breast changes and said the latest figures were "deeply worrying."

Across England, the proportion of patients seen within a fortnight fell from 90 per cent in December 2019 to 71 per cent in December last year.

NHS figures show just two-thirds of patients with breast cancer symptoms - when cancer was not initially suspected - were seen within two weeks in December – also a record low.

At Dorset County Hospital, 13 such patients were referred by GPs in December, with zero seen within two weeks.

At just 0 per cent, this was the joint-lowest monthly figure since records began in 2010, alongside July 2019.

A spokesman for Dorset County Hospital said: “Breast cancer referral appointments have continued at Dorset County Hospital throughout the pandemic however, infection control measures alongside increases in referral numbers in October, November and early December have led to an increase in waiting times.

“We take these delays very seriously and are working to address the waiting times as quickly as possible. Our internal clinic capacity has now returned to pre-covid levels and we are looking at increasing our capacity further.

“In addition to this, we have agreed a system-wide recovery plan to offer patients the opportunity to have their appointment at University Hospitals Dorset at a number of weekend clinics specifically set up to help address the waiting times at Dorset County Hospital.”

Baroness Delyth Morgan, chief executive of Breast Cancer Now, said: “Facing longer waits at an already incredibly difficult time can cause women huge anxiety, and the frightening consequence of these vital targets being missed is that more women could be living with undetected breast cancer due to delayed diagnoses.

"This issue has to be addressed as early diagnosis is key to giving treatment the best chance of success."

Baroness Morgan added: “At the end of a gruelling year, and still now, we know the diagnostic and imaging cancer workforce is working tirelessly under immense pressure, having already been chronically under-resourced pre-pandemic.

"This is why we urgently need the Government to make the long-term investment and take the strategic approach needed to address the profound scale of the crisis currently facing the cancer workforce."

An NHS spokeswoman said hospitals carried out more than two cancer procedures for every coronavirus patient they treated in 2020.

She added: “These figures show people should come forward if they have a worrying symptom because the NHS has, even at the highest point of the second wave of the pandemic, maintained capacity to carry out cancer checks and support people to start treatment.”

A Department for Health and Social Care spokesman said cancer diagnosis and treatment has remained a priority throughout the pandemic, with £150 million provided in October to allow the NHS to expand diagnostic capacity.