The number of people surviving cancer was continuing to increase before the Covid-19 crisis, and survival rates in the UK have doubled in the last 40 years. With the importance of early detection clearly proven, its concerning to learn that thousands of cancer cases could now be being missed because of a current reluctance to seek medical help when people have signs or symptoms that could be cancer.
A recent report from Cancer Research UK found that the number of urgent referrals by GPs for cancer treatment has dropped by 75 per cent during the Coronavirus pandemic. We’ve seen a similar trend at Bupa with calls to our Cancer Direct Access service also down.
Please don’t delay if you need medical help
Doctors are becoming increasingly concerned that other illnesses may be missed or diagnosed late while the focus is on COVID-19, so I’m urging customers to get in touch with us as they would normally if they are concerned about their health.
We all know that facing cancer isn’t easy, but early diagnosis is as important as ever and we shouldn’t put our health on hold during lockdown. For anyone unsure about potentially cancerous symptoms, we always advise people to look out for any change that’s unexplained or persistent, and to get things checked out as soon as possible. This advice still stands.
Critical services to support our customers
While the impact of Coronavirus is being felt by cancer services across the UK, our clinical and operational teams across Bupa have responded quickly to introduce new and expanded services so patients can raise any warning signs with a doctor as easily as possible.
Our Digital GP service has been rolled out to all UK insurance customers. We have been working hard with independent hospitals to boost availability of virtual consultations with cancer specialists so that people can discuss any worrying symptoms from the safety of their own home.
Our customers can also call Bupa’s Cancer Direct Access service to discuss symptoms over the phone with our dedicated oncology team. They will then be offered a virtual consultation with a cancer specialist, without needing a GP referral. Since launching in 2015, we have helped over 4,000 customers get quicker diagnosis, or peace of mind, and our teams are ready to support people now.
And for those customers who need further tests and scans, we’ve been working with cancer hospitals across the UK to increase availability of appointments, including through our network of Specialist Breast Cancer Centres. Our well-used chemotherapy at home service has also been expanded so more people can choose to receive treatment without needing to attend hospital, and we have seen greatly increased use of this.
Playing our part in the national health response
We’ve made a commitment to do whatever we can to support the NHS to respond to this national crisis. I’m hugely proud that the Bupa Cromwell Hospital in London has been appointed by NHS England to support the Royal Marsden Cancer Hub which ensures NHS hospitals continue to deliver as much cancer treatment as possible across the capital during the Covid-19 outbreak. It’s focusing on time critical cancer surgery to ensure patients receive much-needed urgent treatment.
Tackling the pandemic is everyone’s priority and the focus has been on making sure that the NHS have enough beds, equipment and skilled staff to respond to this crisis at this critical time. Thankfully a lot of this hospital capacity has not been needed and we anticipate that over the coming days and weeks more and more patients with other conditions will be able to be treated, particularly those undergoing urgent treatment. We will work with the hospitals to ensure those patients who are now waiting for care are treated as soon as possible.
Alex Perry
