Delays in Cancer Scan Results Cause ‘Nightmare’ for Patient

A patient undergoing cancer treatment states that his life is on hold due to postponements in receiving scan results. Walt Benkoff, an Oswestry, Shropshire resident with stomach cancer, characterized the wait for scans in the county as a “nightmare.” Data from NHS England reveals that Shropshire has the nation’s longest waiting periods for CT and MRI diagnostic tests. The Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust apologized and affirmed its dedication to swiftly implementing improvements. General practitioners indicated a shortage of radiologists and expressed concern that the delays were not being addressed with sufficient seriousness. Mr. Benkoff, a retired taxi driver, requires scans every three months as part of his treatment regimen but reported that obtaining results takes nearly four months. Walt stated, “We just don’t know where we are – it’s frustrating for everybody, for me, for [my partner] Laura – generally it’s a nightmare.” His partner, Laura Connors, commented that the extended waits were a source of stress for the entire family. She remarked, “You’re just waiting to find out is he OK, is he not OK? It’s just always there.” She added, “We haven’t been on holiday since the cancer journey started five years ago.” Another cancer patient, Richard Deeley, from Priorslee, Telford, shared that waiting for his scan results caused his emotions to be “up and down all the time.” He commented, “You get very tearful, you get very distant – you hope for the best, but you often think it’s the worst.” Mr. Deeley explained that he found himself “counting down the days until those results,” with his life effectively paused. He stated, “It’s the day you want to come quickly but in some ways it’s a day you don’t want to come at all, as it’s quite possible that my life may never be the same again.” Between January and June 2024, over 4,000 individuals in Shropshire experienced waits for scan results that exceeded the government’s four-week target. General practitioners in the county asserted that up to two-fifths of their workload involved managing delays in hospital treatments and tests. Dr. Charlotte Hart, clinical director of the Shrewsbury Primary Care Network, commented, “We’ve been trying to raise [the issue] for many, many months now.” She continued, “There are little flurries of activity and things improve for a little bit, and then they get worse again.” Adding, “It feels as though [the issue] is not being taken seriously enough.” The government stated its commitment to investing unprecedented sums into the NHS to ensure timely cancer detection. However, Lynn Cawley of Healthwatch Shropshire noted that the waiting periods were generating anxiety among the patients she engaged with. She explained, “They’re worried the delay in getting a diagnosis would mean they don’t start their treatment soon enough and that might impact on the length of their life.” Dr. Katharine Halliday, president of the Royal College of Radiologists, indicated that while waiting lists represent a national concern, Shropshire’s statistics were more severe compared to other regions of the country. She stated, “The problem is we just don’t have enough radiologists.” A spokesperson for Shrewsbury and Telford NHS Trust expressed regret that some cancer patients faced excessive waits for scans and their subsequent results. They further explained that initiatives were in progress to rapidly enhance services experiencing the highest demand, and additional funding had been allocated in recent weeks, including expanding clinic space, to reduce care waiting times. They affirmed, “We are committed to doing everything possible [and are] working with partners to offer patients faster access to scans, tests and treatments.” Stay updated with BBC Shropshire on Facebook, X, and Instagram. Submit your story concepts to: newsonline.westmidlands@bbc.co.uk. Copyright 2024 BBC. All rights reserved. The BBC bears no responsibility for the material on external websites. Learn more about our policy on external linking.