Ethnic minorities in England ‘need more GP visits’ before cancer diagnosis
Ethnic minorities and young people need more visits to the GP than other people before being diagnosed with cancer, according to new analysis.
On average, one in five people in England need three or more GP visits before being diagnosed with cancer. But for people from minority ethnic backgrounds this figure rises to one in three, according to analysis of the 2022 NHS cancer patient survey by QualityWatch, a joint program between the Nuffield Trust and the Health Foundation.
Of young people aged 16 to 24, about half required at least three GP visits before the diagnosis was made, while 20% required at least five visits. Despite this, young people were still more likely to be diagnosed at an early stage of their cancer.
The analysis also found that people from the most deprived areas in England were 21% less likely to be referred for urgent suspected cancer than people from more affluent areas.
The NHS’s own target is to have three quarters of cancer cases diagnosed at an early stage by 2028.
The research further reveals the differences in cancer care between demographic groups across England. Deprivation is already causing 33,000 extra cancer deaths in Britain, while black and Asian people wait longer on average for a cancer diagnosis than their white counterparts.
Prof. Kamila Hawthorne, president of the Royal College of GPs, said identifying cancer symptoms in young people could be challenging because the risk to the group was much lower overall.
Hawthorne said: “Ensuring that patients receive timely and appropriate referrals for suspected cancers is a priority for GPs – and to this end they are doing a good job of making more urgent referrals and ensuring that more cancers are diagnosed at an early stage than ever before. diagnosed.
“Although GPs are highly trained to identify cancers, this remains a challenge in primary care, not least and especially in some cancers, as symptoms are often vague and typical of other more common conditions.”
Dr. Liz Fisher, senior fellow at the Nuffield Trust, said: “Delays in cancer diagnosis pose real risks to people and early diagnosis plays a crucial role in determining the treatments available to people and determining outcomes .
“The NHS has set an ambitious target to dramatically increase early detection of cancer, but performance in this area has stalled in recent years. Everyone’s experience of being diagnosed with cancer is different, but the risks of delays are not felt equally, with younger people and people from minority ethnic groups requiring more visits to health professionals to get a diagnosis.’
Tim Gardner, deputy director of policy at the Health Foundation, said: “This analysis highlights the need to improve people’s access to primary care, especially in more deprived areas, so that more people can be diagnosed earlier. This ultimately depends on increasing primary care capacity through sustainable long-term investments and growing and supporting the workforce.”
An NHS spokesperson said: “NHS staff are working hard to ensure that everyone affected by cancer receives a prompt diagnosis, regardless of their age, ethnicity or socio-economic status.
“The NHS is diagnosing cancer at an early stage in more people than ever and last year, for the first time, more than 3 million people were referred by GPs for potentially life-saving cancer checks.”