Best in the country for cancer diagnosis
Thousands of cancer patients are being diagnosed and treated faster at our hospitals than anywhere else in the country.
The latest NHS data shows that we are seeing more patients with suspected cancer than ever before, and are able to treat them quickly or rapidly put their minds to rest.
Our hospitals are major players in the North East London Cancer Alliance, which is rated the best-performing network on six out of the ten national cancer standards.
Barts Health has always performed well against national cancer targets, and the statistics show we are sustaining our record while others struggle with the legacy of the pandemic.
About 3,000 suspected cancer patients are referred to us every month, and we assess almost 96% of them within a fortnight. That is above the 93% national standard and compares well with a falling national average (79% for the last quarter of 2021/2).
Our workload represents almost half the activity done in the NEL cancer alliance. We see almost all patients quickly in the major cancer specialities with the biggest numbers – breast, head and neck, and gastrointestinal. Our partner hospitals at Homerton and Barking, Havering and Redbridge tend to do well with much smaller numbers in other specialities.
In NEL we have the best record of any local system for seeing patients within two weeks of being referred by a GP, both for urgent cases and breast symptoms. We also ensure a higher proportion of patients see a consultant within a month of diagnosis, and subsequently receive prompt surgery or radiotherapy.
The NHS recently introduced a new standard for three-quarters of suspected cancer patients to have a firm diagnosis within four weeks, and NEL topped the rankings here too, with Barts Health leading the way at 83%.
Angela Wong, chair of our cancer board, said:
We are making a big difference to the health and wellbeing of local residents by spotting cancer sooner and providing quicker access to treatment. I’m incredibly proud of what our cancer teams have achieved, working in collaboration with GP and other partners in other hospitals.
We are grateful to our staff for their hard work as we continue to innovate and find new ways to diagnose cancer more quickly and improve treatment for patients.