Manx Care is failing to reach any of the three internationally recognised cancer waiting time standards it is measured against.
Health Minister Claire Christian was asked for the figures by her predecessor Lawrie Hooper (Ramsey).
The figures show that Manx Care is failing to meet the Faster Diagnosis Standard (FDS), 31-day decision to treat standard or the 62-day referral to treatment standard.
Ms Christian said one of the issues with diagnosis has been the lack of a full-time Consultant Breast Radiologist. Breast cancer referrals make up around one fifth of all referrals on the island.
She also noted that “inappropriate or incomplete referrals received from GP practices are also resulting in delays to diagnostics” and said the department and Manx Care are “committed to reducing waiting times”.
Measuring Success
The 31-day decision to treat standard requires that 96% of patients commence cancer treatment within 31 days of a decision to treat.
Performance against this standard dipped in November and December 2024, to 75% and 77% respectively, following an eight-month period which saw performance levels of around 90%.
The 62-day referral to treatment standard requires that 85% of patients commence cancer treatment within 62 days of a referral for suspected cancer.
This standard is consistently missed and there has been a decline in performance against this standard in recent months; the rate reported for December 2024 was 44%.
However, some of the fluctuation in performance between months may be attributed to the modest number of patients commencing treatment for cancer (around 28 people per month).
Diagnosis
The Faster Diagnosis Standard (FDS) requires that 75% of patients receive a diagnosis or ruling out of cancer within 28 days of a referral for suspected cancer.
Ms Christian said: “This standard was last achieved in March 2024. Performance against this standard has since fluctuated; the rate reported for December 2024 was 64%.”
However, the lack of a full-time Consultant Breast Radiologist, the post having been vacant since June 2024, has led to delays in diagnostics for breast cancer.
She added: “Though a temporary locum Consultant Breast Radiologist provided cover for this post between October 2024 and December 2024, the service has not since had cover.
`’Manx Care has provisionally agreed further locum cover for two days per month in February, March and April, and there are ongoing discussions regarding the potential for additional weekend clinics.
“Performance against the FDS with respect to breast cancer will remain a challenge while the Consultant Breast Radiologist position remains vacant.”
The minister added that Manx Care is seeking to recruit a new radiologist.
Urology
In Urology, Manx Care’s pathway for prostate cancer does not align with the NHS-recommended ‘timed prostate cancer diagnostic pathway’.
The minister said that this means that even without delays to diagnostics for prostate cancer, it is unlikely that a patient will receive a diagnosis or ruling out of cancer within 28 days.
She added: “The lack of timeliness in this pathway is therefore contributing to Urology’s compliance with the FDS, which stands at around 34%, well below the 75% target.
“Manx Care is reviewing this pathway to identify how the service can be reconfigured to reduce the time taken for diagnostics to be completed.
“A clinical specialist from the Urology team recently visited a provider of cancer services in Liverpool to observe how the improved prostate cancer pathway is being delivered operationally.
“A key action from this visit was to identify opportunities to provide patients with more direct access to magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), without first having to attend an outpatient appointment.”
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