Over 800 people in East Suffolk and North Essex waited two months for cancer treatment last year
This is according to research from the House of Commons Library, commissioned by the Liberal Democrats.
840 people in East Suffolk and North Essex were left waiting two months to start cancer treatment in 2022.
This is according to research from the House of Commons Library, commissioned by the Liberal Democrats.
CEO of East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust (ESNEFT), Nick Hulme, told us they've had a huge increase in the number of people needing treatment.
"We've seen an increase in cancer referrals of over 150% in terms of people coming through for what we call the 'two-week rule.'"
The two-week rule applies to people who have received a GP referral following suspected cancer.
According to Nick, the increase has occurred post-pandemic: "The number of people that we're treating has gone up hugely. And in fact, although more people are now waiting, we're also treating ... 110% of the original numbers that we were treating pre-COVID.
"So the number of treatments ... for cancer has gone up and we're treating more at ESNEFT than any other comparable sized organization" in the region.
"A COVID hangover"
According to Nick, all regions will be facing increased pressure and wait times due to the backlog COVID created.
"What we're seeing locally and nationally is a bit of a COVID hangover in terms of cancer because there were no screenings during COVID.
"And a lot of people who had symptoms didn't present to A&E, because they were worried about leaving their home
"So we we think that nationally, between 16-18% of cancers were missed."
What is ESNEFT doing to help this issue?
"What we're doing is increasing the number of staff that we have treating people with cancer", Nick said.
"We're transforming our cancer pathways to make sure that we treat people as quickly as possible.
"We're also making sure that we treat those patients with the most acute need first. We know there are some cancers where if you don't treat people within 62 days, their outcome is going to be worse.
"There are some cancers where the speed of treatment doesn't necessarily affect their outcome, so those less aggressive cancers ... will wait a little bit longer and they'll have no impact on their outcome."
Though he acknowledged the "psychological impact" of anyone having to wait for treatment.
Moving forward
Nick concluded: "Like the rest of the country, we are dealing with unprecedented levels of demand.
"But we know what the issue is, we're addressing the issue, and we'll see the improvement over the next few months."