Lack of cancer doctors is jeopardising care

The NHS will be unable to provide top quality care for those with cancer if the shortage of cancer doctors in the UK is not resolved.

A census of 62 cancer centres in the UK discovered that over 7.5% of consultant jobs were available. It found that their services were mainly being upheld through the use of huge amounts of overtime, which was subsequently putting treatments at risk.

The NHS have announced plans to increase the number of doctors, with the number of doctor training places increasing and the amount of investment in the NHS rising. Despite this, and as a result of many doctors retiring, this plan is not enough to cover the ever growing demand for care.

The college investigated the number of consultant clinical oncologists these cancer centres had. The results found that together, these centres had the equivalent of 863 full-time doctors currently working for them.

The census also concluded that between the centres, they had a further 70 job vacancies – most of which had been vacant for over a year.

When overtime is taken into account, the NHS is 184 clinical oncologists short, a number that would likely rise.

Despite staff shortages, every year the number of clinical oncologists working for the NHS rises by around 5%. The issue is that the demand for cancer care is increasing at an even quicker rate.
In England, the government has promised to give the NHS increased funding of £20bn a year by 2023, with cancer being made a top priority.

Julie Crossley a Medical Negligence Lawyer at Ashtons legal comments: “Staff shortages has been an increasing issue in the NHS in recent years, and it is concerning that the NHS continues to struggle to fill posts in all areas, but more so in Oncology, where speed of diagnosis and treatment is imperative to ensure that the disease is prevented from accelerating where possible. This can and will continue to lead to litigation where families and individuals consider that their treatment or diagnosis was avoidably delayed.”