Single Photon Emission Computerized Tomography While the NHS and professional bodies say hospitals were forced to cancel elective appointments to limit patients in wards, the pandemic has exposed flaws in the health service’s ability to diagnose serious conditions early, experts say. Top radiologists have said an historical lack of staff as well as a shortage in CT and MRI scanners has been “exacerbated” by Covid-19. Dr William Ramsden is Vice president of the clinical radiology faculty for the Royal College of Radiologists (RCR) and a Children’s radiologist at Leeds Children’s Hospital. Speaking about the pressures of the pandemic, he said: “I think the main problem was that the routine work was cancelled. We were all asked to concentrate on the Covid work, quite naturally. Thus we stopped getting so many referrals and there was less work coming through than would normally be expected.
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Cancer scan backlog raises late detection fears
Millions of people missed out on potentially life-saving scans when non-Covid-19 NHS services ground to a halt during the pandemic, analysis shows.
In England, at least 4.4 million fewer scans were performed between April and September this year compared to the same period in 2019.
One in seven people are now waiting more than three months for a scan as the NHS attempts to clear the backlog.
NHS England says some services are now back to the same levels as last year.
But professional bodies and Cancer Research UK say the period of inactivity has left a backlog that could leave a swathe of people presenting at hospital in a worsened condition.
A CANCER survivor says people could die because of the sharp drop in the number of diagnostic scans being carried out by the NHS in Worcestershire during the Covid pandemic. Figures for Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust show that between April and September this year, 139,895 scans were carried out, compared to 206,015 in the same period in 2019 – that s 66,120 fewer scans, a drop of 32.09 per cent. The scans are not just for suspected cancer but other serious conditions such as heart disease, where an early diagnosis is often vital for survival. Barbara Moss, 66, from Worcester, was diagnosed with late-stage bowel cancer in 2006 and given just months to live. The health campaigner said the drop in scans was simply not acceptable .
By Rachel Conner-Hill echorachelc Chief Reporter (Tees Valley & North Yorkshire)
NHS scans fell by a third during first six months of pandemic Picture: PA FEARS have been raised about the impact on cancer patients after thousands of people in the North-East missed out on potentially life-saving scans when non-Covid NHS services ground to a halt. The number of diagnostic scans – including MRI, CT scans and ultrasounds – carried out in the North-East and Yorkshire dropped by a third between April and September, compared with the same time period in 2019. The area saw the largest decline in England in the overall number of scans, which dropped by 856,780.