Coronavirus: Cancer charity hopes hospital cancer treatments can be resumed ‘as soon as possible’

Action Cancer CEO Gareth Kirk was speaking to the News Letter after this paper revealed that 49% of acute hospital beds across NI are currently lying empty, after being cleared to make way for an expected surge in Covid-19 victims.

The British Medical Association (BMA) in NI said it made sense to clear so many beds in light of the substantial death toll the pandemic has caused in Italy, Spain and France.

But NI chairman Dr Tom Black said this week that it was time for the authorities here to consider reopening routine wards, after Health Minister Robin Swann said that NI may already have hit its peak infection rate for Covid-19.

Mr Kirk told the News Letter: “In light of the Covid-19 cases in Northern Ireland being significantly below those numbers previously projected, we would hope that this would give some scope for resumption of normal cancer services as soon as possible.”

Dr Black said he is particularly worried about the enforced break in care many cancer patients have seen during the pandemic, adding it is possible some non-Covid-19 patients could lose their lives due to resources being diverted to the pandemic.

But Mr Kirk said it was “absolutely necessary” for now that the focus is on Covid-19 pandemic, praising NHS staff for “doing their utmost to both protect and save lives”. He trusts health chiefs in their decisions, he added.

Roisin Foster, Cancer Focus NI chief executive, also said that cancer diagnoses may be delayed due to the pandemic and that it could mean patients require more treatment. Surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy are often considered by doctors after the disease is diagnosed.

Ms Foster said: “Screening is being paused for other clinical reasons. It does mean that some people will have their cancer diagnosed later than they would have.

“That may mean that they have to have more treatment. It may well have advanced. It is just storing up problems for the future.”

Higher risk cancer screening will continue but it has been necessary to pause more routine tests.

Mr Swann said: “I know the importance of screening, but this decision will allow reallocation of precious resources to our frontline staff as they undertake the massive task ahead of them.

“In addition it must be remembered that many people who attend screening programmes are in a higher-risk category for coronavirus and it is essential that we minimise risk to those people through maintaining social distancing at this time.”

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