One in seven patients miss cancer surgery during COVID lockdowns - study

Cancer patients have missed out on potentially life-saving operations during lockdowns - One in seven cancer patients around the world have missed out on potentially life-saving operations during COVID-19 lockdowns, a new study reveals. Planned cancer surgery was affected by lockdowns regardless of the local COVID-19 rates at that time, with patients in lower income countries at highest risk of missing their surgery. Whilst lockdowns have been essential in protecting the general public from spreading infection, they have had collateral impact on care for other patients and health conditions. In one of the first studies that have measured these effects directly, researchers showed that lockdowns led to significant delays to cancer surgery and potentially more cancer deaths. These could have been prevented if operations had gone ahead on time. Researchers are calling for major global reorganisation during the recovery from the pandemic to provide protected elective surgical pathways and critical care beds that will allow surgery to continue safely, as well as investment in 'surge' capacity for future public health emergencies. They believe that 'ring-fenced' intensive care beds would support patients with other health conditions and those with advanced disease (who are the highest risk from delays) to undergo timely surgery.