Patients’ ‘lives at risk’ because of lack of specialist cancer nurses, NHS census shows

Staff ‘run ragged’ covering gaps caused by ‘brutal’ government cuts and poor workforce planning, said experts

Kent and Medway has just one specialist nurse for every 418 head and neck cancers diagnosed, compared to one for every 46 in West Yorkshire (Getty)

Lives are being put at risk by delays to essential chemotherapy treatment and a shortages of cancer nurses, medical leaders have warned.

As many as 15 per cent of cancer nursing roles are unfilled in parts of England with the result that the remaining staff are being “run ragged”, a major audit by the charity Macmillan found.

It adds that the workforce as a whole is closer to retirement than during the last analysis in 2014, and nurses are increasingly taking on specialist roles without the pay or training they require.

Experts said some patients in some parts of the country are not getting the life-saving treatment they need in a timely manner as a result, and the blame for this “rests solely with the government”.

The Macmillan Cancer Workforce in England Report 2017 warns of a “startlingly broad variation” in the ratio of new cancer patients to nurses on hand to care for them in each part of the country.

Kent and Medway, for example, has 203 patients diagnosed with lung cancer – the UK’s biggest cancer killer – for every specialist lung cancer nurse, while Greater Manchester has a specialist for every 62 patients.

On head and neck cancers, Kent and Medway had just one nurse for every 418 cancer cases, compared to 46 patients for every nurse in West Yorkshire.

Meanwhile in Devon and Cornwall, the “Peninsula” region, 15.3 per cent of the posts for specialist chemotherapy nurses are unfilled.

These roles are specifically trained to deliver rounds of chemotherapy to patients in oncology departments. They will be expert in doses but also play a major role in advising patients and their families on the process, side effects and how these can be managed.

The report found the proportion of nurses performing the role of a cancer specialist in the lower-paid nursing roles, Band Five and Six, increased from 23 per cent to 28 per cent, while the number of band seven specialist nurses fell.

Workforce vacancies were higher than the UK average for the health sector in all four cancer roles considered by the census, which also included specialist palliative care nurses, and cancer support workers.

The findings follow a report by the Nursing and Midwifery Council which showed an exodus of nurses from the EU as a result of the government’s “botched” Brexit negotiations, meaning nurse numbers fell for the second year running.

“We are concerned that cancer nurses are being run ragged, and that some patients may not be receiving the level of specialist care they need,” said Dr Karen Roberts, the charity’s chief nursing officer.

“Nurses working in cancer care tell us that their increasingly complex and pressured workload is beginning to affect the quality of care patients receive. It is no surprise that hospitals are struggling to recruit to these roles, given this unprecedented pressure.”

She added that the expertise and support of someone who is a specialist, whether in a particular cancer or type of treatment, has a massive bearing on patients’ care.

Ann McMahon, research and innovation manager at the Royal College of Nursing went further.

“It is no exaggeration to say the shortage of nurses is putting patients’ lives at risk,” she said.

“As we saw earlier this year, not having enough specialist staff available can delay or reduce access to treatment including life-saving chemotherapy.

“For patients diagnosed with cancer, any delay can lead to worse outcomes, and it is difficult to overstate the distress felt by patients and their families as they wait to begin the treatments lives can depend on.

“The blame for this rests solely with the Government. Poor workforce planning and brutal cuts to training budgets have left specialist services struggling to recruit the skilled nurses they need.”

A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: “Cancer survival rates are at a record high, with around 7,000 people alive today who would not have been if mortality rates stayed the same as in 2010.

“As well as expanding nurse training places by 5,170, we are also committed to increasing the capacity and skills of specialist cancer nurses.”