NHS trust ‘on its last legs’ rations chemotherapy

HOSPITALS are having to ration chemotherapy to cancer patients with the best chance of survival.

nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust, one of england’s largest, said staff shortages meant it had to deny treatment to some patients with advanced diagnoses.

It postponed treatment for 49 on Thursday as it had 30 per cent fewer specialist nurses than needed for a full service.

Oncologist Dr Lucy Gossage wrote in a blog post: ‘Right now, we don’t have the staffing capacity to deliver chemotherapy to all our patients and so, for the first time, the prioritisation list has come into force.

‘We are unable to offer chemotherapy that aims to prolong life or palliate symptoms for people with advanced cancer. We hope that this is very temporary, but it’s indicative of a system on its last legs.

‘As oncologists, we’re not used to apologising for a broken system – and that is what we’re doing every day. This is not ok. Our patients are not ok. We are not ok.’

A spokesman told The Daily Telegraph it would expect to ‘restart chemotherapy for all patients who require it in October’.