FEWER than half of patients with breast cancer symptoms are being seen in hospital within two weeks following an urgent GP referral, the Gazette can reveal.

Figures from Hampshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (HHFT) published in April show that in February, just 47.4 per cent of those with symptoms of breast cancer were seen within 14 days.

The trust has a target for more than 93 per cent of patients with breast cancer symptoms who receive an urgent GP referral for suspected cancer to be assessed in hospital within two weeks.

It failed to meet this target seven times during the last year.

The worst month was December 2021, when just 42.2 per cent of patients were seen within two weeks.

The trust, which runs Basingstoke, Andover and Winchester hospitals, is also failing on other cancer targets according to recent figures.

It has failed to meet its target of 62 days for first cancer treatment following an urgent GP referral since May last year.

The target requires that at least 85 per cent of cancer patients receive treatment within 62 days.

In February this year, 60.7 per cent received treatment within this timeframe.

HHFT also failed to meet a 31-day target for cancer patients to receive their first treatment following diagnosis, on five occasions during the last year.

A report on the NHS’s handling of cancer, published in April by the Commons Health and Social Care Committee, states that “the single most effective way to improve overall survival rates would be to diagnose more cancers earlier”.

It added: “The effect of reluctance to come forward, late diagnosis and delayed treatment will almost certainly mean that many lives will end prematurely.”

The inquiry asked why cancer outcomes in England continue to lag behind comparable countries internationally and examine evidence relating to the underlying causes of these differences.

It also considered the impact of disruption to cancer services during the Covid-19 pandemic will have on efforts to “catch up”.

The government is set to respond to the report on June 5.

Update:

A spokesperson for HHFT said: “We remain committed to doing all that we can to improve cancer patient wait times and our staff are working exceptionally hard to be there for all those in need of our care.

“We have seen a sustained increased in cancer referrals in recent months with people now returning to access care at pre-pandemic levels. However, the effects of Covid-19 mean that we still face significant challenges.

"We are proud that cancer care has continued throughout the pandemic, and our cancer performance against the faster diagnosis standard is currently ranked in the top 25 per cent nationally and third overall locally. However we recognise that we need to do even more to ensure patients are seen and treated as quickly as possible, and in order to do this we are increasing the number of appointments available and the recruitment of additional staff.”

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