Hundreds of thousands of cancer patients in Britain are being forced to pay for private treatment amid record waiting times on the NHS, according to data obtained by the Guardian.
The figures emerged as King Charles began treatment for the disease within days of being diagnosed. Buckingham Palace has not specified whether the king receives private healthcare or is treated by the National Health Service.
While the king is already receiving expert care, his treatment will draw new attention to the long cancer waiting times in the state-run NHS, which is widely seen by experts as a crisis situation.
The latest figures show the percentage of patients in England waiting less than 62 days after an urgent cancer referral or consultant upgrade to their first definitive cancer treatment. The target is 85%.
Figures for November show that one in ten people do not receive treatment within 31 days of their cancer being discovered and a decision made to treat them. Around 90.1% are seen in England within this time frame, which is below the NHS target of 96%.
Amid growing frustration over NHS waiting lists, record numbers of people are paying for private healthcare. Nearly 300,000 people in Britain have paid for chemotherapy in the past five years, figures from the Guardian show.
According to the Private Healthcare Information Network, an independent, government-backed information service on private consultants and hospitals, 282,560 people financed chemotherapy treatments through insurance between 2018 and 2023. Another 13,900 people paid for their own chemotherapy, the data show.
The PHIN said it could not provide figures on people paying for cancer surgery, radiotherapy or other forms of private cancer treatment. It means the total number of people paying for private cancer treatments is likely to be even higher.
On Monday, the king spent the night at his home at Clarence House, near Buckingham Palace, after beginning a series of outpatient treatments within days of his diagnosis.
The cancer was discovered when Charles spent three nights last month at the London Clinic, an exclusive private hospital in Marylebone, where he underwent a corrective procedure for a benign enlarged prostate.
Buckingham Palace has not specified which health care provider is treating the king. But it is clear that a balance of factors was taken into account when selecting providers. These included his privacy and security, the most appropriate specialists for the condition, and the potential impact on other patients and on the resources of the NHS and other healthcare providers.
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Amid record waiting times for cancer treatment on the NHS, cancer survival rates in Britain lag behind those of other European countries for nine out of 10 of the most common types of the disease, according to a report from the NHS Confederation published in January was published.
A separate report commissioned by Cancer Research UK last week said progress in cancer survival in Britain is now slower than it has been in fifty years. According to the study, Britain lagged behind comparable countries such as Australia, Canada, Denmark and Norway in tackling the disease.
Researchers said cancer wait times across the country were among the worst on record, too many cancers were diagnosed at late stages and access to treatment was uneven.
The NHS in England said on Tuesday it has seen and treated record numbers of people for cancer, with 30% more people treated last year than in 2015-16 and almost 3 million people receiving potentially life-saving cancer checks in the past 12 months. .
“It is vital that people come forward if they are concerned about cancer symptoms – early screening saves lives,” a spokesperson added.
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