Missed appointments, Missed lives: The impact of COVID-19 on UK Cancer Screenings

The COVID-19 pandemic significantly disrupted healthcare services across the globe. In the UK, routine cancer screening programmes were paused or delayed, leading to a notable decline in uptake. This analysis examines the extent of this disruption, focusing on breast and cervical cancer screenings, and explores the potential long-term implications for public health.

Though I do not face these screenings myself, the stark impact of their absence during the pandemic speaks volumes about how fragile even our most established health services can be.

In 2020-21 the number of women invited for breast cancer screenings in England dropped by 36.9% compared to the previous year. Only 1.19 million women were screened, representing a 44.1% decrease from 2019-20. Interestingly, despite the reduced number of screenings, the breast cancer detection rate has increased to 9.1 per 1,000 from 8.4 in 2020-21. While that stat could appear encouraging, it could also reflect a worrying trend that more cancers were present and potentially undetected for longer. Cervical screening also saw a decline. Coverage among women aged 25-64 in England was 70.2% a 2% decrease, though it is just within the globally acceptable threshold (>70%), the number of samples tested fell from 3.2 million to 3 million.

These declines raise serious concerns. Delays can lead to cancers being diagnosed at later, more dangerous stages. A study (from Cancer Research UK) highlighted that in 2020, the proportion of people diagnosed early with cancer in England dropped to 52% from 54%, representing a decline of about 28,000 fewer people diagnosed early. This moves the NHS even further from its target of 75% early diagnosis by 2028.

Thankfully,  more recent data suggests a recovery is underway. In 2022-23 2.01 million women were screened for breast cancer - a significant rise from 1.19 million in the pandemic. Also, from there, Cervical screening coverage has stabilised with 69.9% of eligible women screened, just shy of the pre-pandemic levels. 

This rebound points to the success of renewed public health efforts and awareness campaigns. However, the legacy of the pandemic's disruption still lingers and rebuilding trust and participation in screening services remains vital.

In conclusion, the COVID-19 pandemic has had a profound impact on cancer screening programmes in the UK. While recovery is underway, the long-term health consequences may still emerge in the years ahead. Continued investment in outreach, access and education is essential to prevent a silent wave of missed diagnoses from becoming a louder tragedy.