There was a fall in referrals to cancer services by half in the first wave of the pandemic. This potentially means late diagnosis and an impact on recovery as well as survival rates.
A recent BBC report mentions that a study from Cardiff University and Cancer Research UK which interviewed 8,000 people raised concerns that people could be diagnosed late and were less likely to be treated and this in turn would impact on the success and recovery of these people. What this means is that half of the people with worrying symptoms like explained lumps/ swellings, change in appearance of a mole, or coughing up blood did not go to their GP.
The reasons for not consulting their GPs was because they were worried about putting more pressure on already stretched GP and NHS services during the pandemic; they feared catching Covid-19 symptoms at an appointment or they were fearful of being perceived as making a fuss over nothing.
As we act for clients with cases involving delayed diagnosis and treatment of cancer we have seen the impact on our clients and their families. A delay in getting a timely diagnosis and being treated in a time manner can potentially impact on the potential treatment options and the patient’s overall outcome If a diagnosis is delayed treatment is also delayed. If treatment is delayed the patient’s outcome can be compromised to the extent that any chances of a successful recovery is reduced. In some cases by the time the cancer is detected and treated it could be too late.
Now the message from the Government and the NHS has been that the NHS is open for business however, understandably due to scale of the pandemic people will have been put off from seeking medical advice. There is no doubt the NHS have tried their best to maintain services but this is an unfolding and indirect casualty of the Covid-19 pandemic. The messaging to protect the NHS from being overrun could have meant people were genuinely afraid of seeing their doctor. Sadly, how many of these cases will have adverse outcomes is something that will take time to reveal but the message for now from the NHS is if you have worrying symptoms do consult your G.P.. Doctors can still do an online or over the phone consultation to take a view if further investigation is needed but it is better than allowing the symptoms to get progressively worse.
No doubt another study will be done to see if more people with worrying suspected cancer symptoms consulted their G.P.s during the second and third wave of the pandemic, hopefully, this will be as much as 50%.
Source: BBC Health 25.2.21 https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-56180913
If you or your loved one have suffered due to medical negligence and would like an informal chat with our medical negligence team please give us a call on 0330 107 0107 or contact us by email at clinicalnegligence@imd.co.uk and a member of our team will be more than happy to arrange a call back for a free no obligation and informal chat to see if we can help you or even signpost you as to what your options might be.
This article is for general information only and does not constitute legal or professional advice. Please note that the law may have changed since this article was published.
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