A huge moment for improving pancreatic cancer care

The publication of the first-ever National pancreatic Cancer Audit annual report is a huge moment. It gives us vital insight into the current state of pancreatic cancer care across England and Wales, and could play a huge role in helping healthcare services to make improvements to ensure people diagnosed are given faster, better care.  

This is a major step towards improving the experiences of people affected by pancreatic cancer. The report has revealed the true picture of the many severe issues impacting care for people with pancreatic cancer – including alarming findings on waiting times.  

Shockingly, the report reveals that just a third (35%) of people with pancreatic cancer in England receive treatment within the NHS target of 62 days of referral by their GP. This stands in stark comparison to the much shorter waiting times we see for other cancer types, like breast cancer (84.5% were seen within 62 days in the same time period).  

More shocking still, in Wales, the median time from referral to first treatment was found to be 82 days.  

These findings are reaffirmed by system wide findings outlined in the Lord Darzi report which highlighted the significant challenges faced by the healthcare system and the need to rebuild the NHS.  

We know that people with pancreatic cancer have no time to wait. People with pancreatic cancer are often already very unwell by the time they are diagnosed, and it’s vital they get treatment before their cancer spreads, or they become too unwell to have treatment.  

Now, we must see fast action from governments in England and Wales to address the problems highlighted by this report. This must include:  

• Providing funding to establish a 21-day diagnostic pathway. 

• Implementing a 21– day treatment pathway for pancreatic cancer as a standard of care. 

• Ensuring that specialist pancreatic cancer roles are funded in every Cancer Alliance and Health Board, so patients receive expert advice, care, and support from diagnosis onwards. 

We urge the government to address these challenges by placing a focus on neglected cancers, such as pancreatic cancer, in the new NHS 10-year plan. 

With the help of our supporters, we at Pancreatic Cancer UK have campaigned for a number of years to secure better data to understand the experience of people with pancreatic cancer accessing care.  

We’re pleased to see the publication of this data for the first time and proud to have played a part in shaping this audit. These findings will support our campaigning work to ensure that people with pancreatic cancer experience faster and fairer support and care.  

None of this would be possible without the hard work and commitment of the audit team. We’re grateful for their efforts and look forward to continuing our work with them in future audits to drive further improvements in pancreatic cancer care. 

You can read the full report on the National Pancreatic Cancer Audit website.