Professor Wishart, Chief Medical Officer at Check4Cancer has written an article for The Spectator on how Britain is facing a cancer care timebomb. As many as 100,000 patients had a cancer that was missed or had their diagnosis or treatment delayed during the lockdowns of 2020 and 2021. That’s the shocking finding of a recent study by the Institute of Cancer Policy at King’s College London.
This week the government opened a consultation on its ten-year cancer plan – part of its ‘national war on cancer’ – to reduce this cancer backlog. The plan aims to improve cancer care with earlier detection, a larger workforce, and new technologies. But there are already worrying signs that the government is going down the wrong path – with potentially disastrous consequences. Professor Wishart discusses how instead the government should take a more targeted approach, focused on raising awareness of specific cancer symptoms. It should also remember that many cancers are found following routine rather than urgent GP cancer referrals.
You can read the full article in The Spectator here.
