NHS boss blames Stephen Fry for hospitals failing to meet cancer waiting time targets
A TOP NHS boss blamed TV star Stephen Fry for hospitals failing to meet cancer waiting time targets.
Matthew Swindells, deputy chief exec of NHS England, said there was an "extraordinary spike in demand" after Fry revealed he had been treated for prostate cancer.
The TV presenter, 61, urged "men of a certain age" to get themselves tested when he told of his diagnosis in February.
Figures show 80.8% of patients with suspected cancer started treatment within 62 days of being urgently referred by a GP from April to June.
This was below the target of 85% for the 18th consecutive quarter and the worst quarterly performance since records began.
Mr Swindells, said the drop in performance was a "complex story".
But he told the NHS Expo conference in Manchester that this was "largely driven" by Fry's announcement that he had his prostate removed.
He said: "When we look at the data, there's been an extraordinary spike in demand.
"I'm told largely driven by Stephen Fry getting prostate cancer and the media coverage of that.
"We have seen increases in referrals into a number of the cancer specialties, particularly urology, in the sort of 15% level jump this year, which is unprecedented."
Mr Swindells admitted the numbers look "terrible" but said the NHS had treated more patients within the target than ever before.
He said it was encouraging to see more people getting tested for cancer.
And he added: "We now have as an NHS to be able to work out how we manage our demand and our capacity and get smarter."
Patients with suspected cancer should be seen by a specialist within 14 days of being urgently referred by a GP.
But this target was also missed for a whole quarter earlier this year, for the first time since records began in 2008/9.
Just 91.4% of these patients urgently referred by a GP were seen within 14 days between April and June - below the target of 93%.
Heather Blake, from Prostate Cancer UK, said it was positive that high profile cases such as Fry and BBC newsreader Bill Turnbull had led to more men being tested.
She said: “Since the beginning of 2018 we have seen an unprecedented amount of public interest in prostate cancer.
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"This follows the announcement that it is now the third biggest cancer killer in the UK and high profile individuals such as Stephen Fry and Bill Turnbull sharing their experience of the disease.
"It is likely that this increased awareness will have had an impact on the number of men at risk of the disease going to their doctor to discuss prostate cancer and subsequently sent for further tests.
“It is a good thing if awareness of this killer disease is increasing, and more men are taking control by discussing it with their GP."
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