Patients with aggressive cancer ‘slipping through the cracks’ in NHS
Warning issued over avoidable delays blood cancer patients face
- New analysis by Leukaemia UK reveals that approximately one in four people in England with blood cancer face avoidable delays in diagnosis.
- The charity's research, which examined more than 12,000 leukaemia cases, highlighted significant diagnostic hold-ups, particularly for patients with acute leukaemia.
- A quarter of leukaemia patients who experienced diagnostic delays were eventually diagnosed in emergency settings like A&E, a rate significantly higher than for other cancers.
- Leukaemia UK's chief executive, Fiona Hazell, stated that too many patients are "slipping through the cracks" in the NHS and called for urgent action in the upcoming National Cancer Plan.
- Experts are urging for clearer referral pathways, faster access to blood tests, and improved support for GPs to facilitate earlier and more accurate leukaemia diagnoses.