Patients face unprecedented delays in accessing the NHS over the next few years. There is also a real chance of waiting lists more than doubling by 2025 according to watchdogs.
According to the National Audit Office, the number of people waiting for treatment in hospitals will rise from 5.8 million to 12million in England.
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Due to the fact that GPs have referred 9.1million less patients during the pandemic, there is a backlog.
The NAO stated that up to 740,000 cases of potential cancer were not sent for urgent medical checks.
It reported that 60,000 people were not able to receive treatment for the disease.
Professor Pat Price, an oncologist, is a member of #CatchUpWithCancer. “We are in the biggest cancer catastrophe ever to hit the NHS.”
Ministers are pumping £8billion into the NHS over the next three years to try to cut delays.
The report warned that cash alone would not be enough, and that clearing the backlog could take many years.
The NHS is set to reveal imminently details of how it will tackle the problem — with plans to move patients around the country and scrap some follow-up appointments.
Chair of the Public Accounts Committee Meg Hillier MP said: “Millions of ‘missing’During the pandemic, patients were not able to or avoided seeing a doctor.
“Things will get worse before they get better.”
Eve Byrne from Macmillan Cancer Support’s campaigns and public affairs department called for urgent action in order to combat the effects of chronic staff shortages.