Expert Medical Negligence Lawyers Concerned Delays Could Impact Patient Health

Specialist medical negligence lawyers at Irwin Mitchell have expressed concerns for patient safety in East Anglia after new figures indicated that hundreds of cancer patients are facing long delays when starting treatment for the disease.

The figures indicated one in five patients diagnosed with cancer is waiting longer than two months to begin treatment at the areas three acute hospitals.

National requirements for cancer treatment states that hospitals are expected to treat 85 per cent of patients within 62 days of referral. Improving cancer treatment waiting times were made a top priority for the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital, but the trust missed its target.

Guy Forster, a Partner and expert medical negligence lawyer at Irwin Mitchell’s Cambridge office, said the delays in treating patients referred to hospitals for cancer treatment could be putting their short and long-term health at risk.

Expert Opinion

"Delays in promptly diagnosing and treating any type of cancer can have devastating consequences and it is vital that each and every patient is given the best chances of survival, which means accessing potentially life-saving treatment within the national guidelines.

“Clearly the Trusts in the region have made cancer treatment a top priority yet the targets are still being missed. While the number of patients being referred for cancer treatment has increased in recent years, it is clear further measures are needed to improve treatment of the disease in East Anglia.” Guy Forster - Partner

The Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital, the James Paget Hospital, the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in King’s Lynn and the Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust all missed the cancer treatment targets.