More than half of people do not trust NHS to deliver timely cancer

More than half of people have no faith they would receive timely treatment on the NHS if they were diagnosed with cancer, a poll has suggested.

The poll, by Savanta for the Liberal Democrats, also showed people are ignoring moles they think are cancerous and even attempting to remove lumps themselves because they think it will take too long to see a GP.

Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey said the results show the Conservatives have “broken people’s faith” in local services.

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Savanta asked 2,185 people how confident they were that they would be seen within a two-month timeframe if they were referred to a specialist for suspected cancer.

Some 40% said they were confident they would, but 52% were not confident and around 9% did not know.

People were also asked which of the following, if any, they had done because they thought it would take too long to be seen by a GP.

Some 21% said they had called NHS 111, 13% had ignored a lump or suspicious mole completely, 11% had self-diagnosed a lump or mole using the internet and 8% had gone straight to A and E with a lump or mole they thought could be cancerous.

Some 8% paid for private treatment to inspect a lump or mole and 7% had attempted to remove a mole on themselves or someone else.

Sir Ed said: “It’s shocking to see how badly people’s faith in their local health services has been broken by this Conservative government – to the extent that people are now putting their own health at risk by ignoring possible cancer symptoms.

“Early diagnosis and treatment of cancer is vital for improving someone’s survival, but these statistics show that some people have lost confidence that they will get it.”

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