Three million cancer checks in record year

THE NHS is celebrating a record time for cancer checks - dealing with almost three million urgent referrals in 12 months to October.

- Hanna Geissler

This was a rise of 148,000 compared with the previous year and 26% higher than the same period before the pandemic.

Meanwhile, checks have more than doubled in a decade, rising from 1.28 million in the year to October 2013.

Innovations, including lung health tests in mobile clinics and cancer awareness messages on urinal mats and underwear, have helped to boost the numbers.

Dame Cally Palmer, national cancer director for NHS England, said the progress meant more people had received potentially lifesaving checks despite a challenging year when the health service was plagued by strikes.