Harrogate District Hospital Trust provided over 17,000 fewer scans in the six months after the pandemic began than the six months prior.
The Stray Ferret has found data on the NHS England website to show that 39,348 scans took place between October 2019 and March 2020.
During the six months after coronavirus took hold, April 2020 and September 2020, there were 22,157 scans delivered at the hospital.
That is 17,191 fewer scans.
These numbers include scans delivered at the Nightingale hospital in Harrogate after a referral from the trust. The exact number has not been disclosed.
Coronavirus has had a huge impact on the NHS, with staff working longer hours under difficult conditions.
The district hospital has seen an impact in the number of scans it delivered. Coronavirus meant many appointments were delayed and some patients were left feeling reluctant to go into hospital with health issues.
The hospital said its staff are working hard to re-book appointments.
Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust spokesperson said:
“We are working hard to reschedule appointments and operations impacted by the pandemic for as soon as possible. However, the pandemic means that for many of our patients there will be a delay, and waiting times will be longer.
“We have arrangements in place to risk assess every patient on our waiting lists to ensure we prioritise people on the basis of their clinical need. These decisions are being made by doctors and other clinical colleagues who are following national clinical guidelines.
“Colleagues both in hospital and in community services have been absolutely fantastic throughout the pandemic and despite the ongoing challenges, continue to be.”
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The data included 12 scans covering all areas of the body including CT, MRI and Cystoscopy scans. Some of those included in the data are used in cancer diagnosis.
Seven of the 12 scans included in this data can be used for cancer amongst other conditions.
Huge drops in cancer referrals have been reported throughout the pandemic. Cancer Research UK found that 40,000 fewer people started cancer treatment last year.
Dr Stuart Griffiths, Director of Research and Services at Yorkshire Cancer Research, said:
Several hundred people miss early cancer diagnosis in Yorkshire“We know that there has been a reduction in urgent referrals for suspected cancer during the pandemic which is slowly getting back to normal. Early diagnosis of cancer is vitally important. It is easier to treat when caught early.
“We encourage anyone with any worrying symptoms to approach their GP.”
Several hundred people in Yorkshire have missed potentially life-saving early cancer diagnosis because of covid, according to a Harrogate-based research charity.
Dr Kathryn Scott, chief executive of Yorkshire Cancer Research, gave the figure in an interview with the Stray Ferret.
The NHS halted screenings in the early days of the coronavirus pandemic.
Dr Scott said:
“We have lost some opportunities to find early cancers. People were also very nervous to go to the doctors. Then the people that do go have delays in diagnosis and treatment.
“The NHS tried innovative ways to get around that. But it is still a sad fact that we think several hundred people have missed out on early diagnosis in Yorkshire.”
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She added that when people miss out on early diagnosis they often have to go through more invasive treatments and have a worse chance of survival.
Dr Scott spoke to us after the publication of the charity’s annual accounts for the year ending 31 March 2020, which showed total income had increased from £12.8 million to £18.7 million.
Royalty income accounted for £12 million – up from £6.7 million – of this.
The charity, however, is expecting its next accounts to be more challenging because of covid, with fundraising income likely to be down by more than £1 million.
£8.3 million for new cancer research
To combat what Dr Scott sees as a “big hill to climb” with cancer, the charity is pumping another £8.3 million into new research.
Of this sum, £3.4 million will be used to fund research into whether chemotherapy before surgery in bowel cancer patients improves survival rates.
Other projects it funds will look into ways to use medication to slow the spread of prostate cancer, urine tests to detect bladder cancer and whether vaping products can help those with mental illness quit smoking.
How coronavirus vaccine push can help cancer research
There has been much excitement about the development of coronavirus vaccines with efficacy of up to 95%.
Dr Scott hopes the development of new technologies, such as synthetic DNA-based vaccines, could be adapted to improve cancer treatments. She said:
“One of the benefits of the way they have run the clinical trials is the new technology and the new techniques they’re using in those trials.
“It really compresses the time and so absolutely in the future, fingers crossed, we can get cancer treatments and therapies through that pipeline faster.”
Although the pandemic is likely to hit Yorkshire Cancer Research hard financially, it believes its future is bright, and that it will be able to continue with its aim of helping 2,000 more people survive cancer every year in Yorkshire.
Harrogate illustrator designs Leeds United charity Christmas cardA Harrogate illustrator has designed a Leeds United Christmas card to raise money for Yorkshire Cancer Research.
Graeme Bandeira’s wintry scene features the iconic Billy Bremner statue wearing a blue Santa hat at Elland Road, with Yorkshire Cancer Research’s rose on the East Stand.
The cards are being sold in packs of five for £6, with £2 from each pack donated to Yorkshire Cancer Research, which is based in Harrogate.
Leeds United, who have many supporters in the Harrogate district, began a charity partnership with Yorkshire Cancer Research in September to raise awareness of the organisation’s work.
Dr Kathryn Scott, chief executive at Yorkshire Cancer Research, said:
“We were keen to mark our partnership with Leeds United in a special way and offer the fans an opportunity to celebrate Christmas while raising money to save lives in Yorkshire.
“Inviting Graeme to design our Christmas card felt like the perfect choice. We hope Leeds United supporters will love it as much as we do.”
Left to right: Angus Kinnear, chief executive at Leeds United, Graeme Bandeira and Dr Kathryn Scott, chief executive of Yorkshire Cancer Research.
Mr Bandeira said:
“It’s been an absolute pleasure to join forces with two Yorkshire icons and it being for such a great cause too.”
Money raised from the cards will fund research, end of life care and cancer screening.
The packs of cards can be bought online here or in any of the five Leeds United stores if they are allowed to reopen before Christmas.
Mr Bandeira is also auctioning the original artwork on eBay to raise will be donated to Yorkshire Cancer Research. To make a bid, click here.
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Paul Bell, executive director at Leeds United, said:
“Christmas is always a special time of the year and it’s fantastic that we’re able to mark the occasion this season with our official charity partner.
“We know our supporters will get behind the initiative, with money raised from the sales helping to support the world-leading research taking place to help more people survive cancer.”
Harrogate charity launches bid for welly wanging world record
Harrogate-based charity Yorkshire Cancer Research will attempt to beat the world record for the most wellies wanged in an hour next weekend.
To set the record, the charity needs at least 250 people to film themselves wanging their wellies and upload it to a dedicated Facebook page between 2pm-3pm on Yorkshire Day, August 1.
People taking part are being asked to make a donation for every welly they wang.
The event is part of the charity’s annual fundraising campaign, Give It Some Welly, which has a fundraising target of £10m.
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A popular activity at village fetes and galas, welly wanging is thought to have originated in the West Country of England during the 1970s and is now played around the world — including in Australia, Russia and New Zealand.
Dr Kathryn Scott, chief executive at Yorkshire Cancer Research, said:
“We’re encouraging people across the region to join our ‘Give it Some Welly’ campaign and help put Yorkshire in the spotlight. All you need is a phone and a welly, and you can be part of a world record attempt by posting your video to our Facebook event page on Yorkshire Day.
“The past few months have been challenging and uncertain for many people, especially those affected by cancer, so the generosity of people in Yorkshire means more than ever before. We’d like our world record attempt to provide some light relief while raising life-changing funds to help minimise the impact of the pandemic on people with cancer in our region.
“With our ambitious target to fund £10 million of world-leading research every year to prevent, diagnose and treat cancer, we need people in Yorkshire to come together and help more people give cancer the boot for good.”