Cancer diagnosis delayed by NHS cuts, claims reports

By Iona Bain

Cancer sufferers face life-threatening delays to their diagnosis as doctors are ordered not to waste precious NHS funds by referring them to hospital, suggests new figures.

As the NHS grapples with budget cuts worth £20 billion, figures from the Royal College of GPs show that a quarter of cancer patients visit their doctor at least twice before being referred to a specialist, sparking fears that primary care trusts (PCTs) are being forced to cut costs by limiting diagnostics tests.

Dr Richard Vautrey, a senior figure at the British Medical Association, told the Daily Mirror that PCTs place "huge pressures" on GPs not to refer patients for a diagnosis "because of the cost to the health service".

He also said that GPs have to tread a fine line between overreacting to the symptoms of a commonplace illness and missing the early signs of cancer when considering whether to refer patients to hospital.

The report adds to worries that the UK is now falling behind other developed nations in tackling cancer.

A recent study by the Lancet, part-funded by the Department of Health, shows that Britain's cancer survival rates are 10% lower than countries such as Australia, Canada, Norway, Sweden and Denmark due to delayed diagnosis and treatment.

The findings of the report may encourage Brits to take out the most basic level of private medical insurance, which concentrates on securing a prompt diagnosis.

With insurers like Bupa and Simply Health, you can choose to "go private" just to find out what may be wrong with you before using the NHS for treatment and aftercare.

Insurers are now covering the costs of cancer drugs for longer than before - find out more here.