Cancer: Medical Treatments

(asked on 23rd September 2020) - View Source

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate his Department has made of the number of people waiting for cancer treatment whose (a) diagnosis and (b) screening were delayed during the covid-19 outbreak.


Answered by
Jo Churchill Portrait
Jo Churchill
Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
This question was answered on 10th November 2020

In the five months of published data covering the pandemic period, March – July 2020, cancer treatments were carried out at 82% of the level over the same period last year. Treatment activity has also been affected by the drop in urgent referrals; this is now on the rise and in July 2020 were at 81% of the level in July 2019.

At the end of August, the number of people waiting longer than 62 days following an urgent referral had fallen by 39% from its peak near the end of May.

Reticulating Splines