The number of people sent for urgent cancer investigations at Oxford University Hospitals has plummeted as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, new figures reveal.

The latest NHS England data shows 756 people were seen by a specialist at Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (OUH), which runs the John Radcliffe Hospital, following an urgent GP referral in April.

That was down from 1,778 in the same month last year – a drop of 58 per cent.

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The new figures confirm concerns from Dr Shelley Hayles, planned care and cancer clinical lead for Oxfordshire Clinical Commissioning Group, who told The Oxford Mail last month the county was following a 'massive' national drop.

Across England, 79,600 urgent cancer referrals were made by GPs in April, down 60 per cent from April 2019.

At OUH, the number of people starting treatment following an urgent GP referral for suspected cancer also fell by 20 per cent to 143 in April – mirroring a fall seen across England as a whole.

Of them, 23 per cent had waited more than two months since their referral.

Nationally, 26 per cent of people waited two months or longer to begin their treatment process.

Dr Hayles has stressed people should never worry about ‘being a bother’ to their GPs and they would be ‘delighted’ to have a conversation about any cancer concerns.

She added: “We know that finding cancer early gives us the best chance to cure it, and ignoring potential problems can have serious consequences now or in the future.”

Another problem in Oxfordshire has been patients not attending hospital appointments during the pandemic.

Speaking last month Nick Maynard, cancer lead at OUH, said: “We’ve noticed that people haven’t been attending their appointments, and we don’t want people to miss out on cancer care because of fears around Covid-19.

“Finding and treating cancer early gives us the best chance to cure it, and ignoring potential problems can have serious consequences now or in the future.

“Ongoing care and treatment is just as important, as many of these are also curative and can control disease long term.”

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Sarah Woolnough, executive director of policy and information at charity Cancer Research UK, said the national statistics are 'hugely concerning', and thousands of patients are now in a backlog needing cancer care.

She said: “It’s devastating to see the impact that Covid-19 is having on cancer patients and these figures show just how much the virus has affected cancer waiting times.

“The NHS has been working hard to create ‘Covid-protected’ spaces for cancer services.

"An essential part of this is frequent testing of NHS staff and patients, including those without symptoms, so that vulnerable patients aren’t put at risk of contracting the virus.”