The trust which runs the Queen’s Medical Centre and Nottingham City Hospital has been facing a growing number of people on the 62-day cancer urgent referral to treatment pathway.
A board report on the problem says it “continues to be impacted at leave periods, with slow recovery after each period” – meaning it is struggling to keep with up when key staff are on holiday.
The updated cancer treatment statistics were presented in a Nottingham University Hospitals Trust (NUH) board meeting on May 8.
The 62-day target for referring and giving people their first round of cancer treatment has been a key NHS target since 2008.
It refers to the national benchmark of people with suspected cancer being referred to treatment, being diagnosed and receiving their first round of treatment, if needed, within 62 days.
NHS England says hospital trusts should achieve this 62-day target for 70 per cent of patients. In March 2025, Nottingham’s hospitals only achieved 66 per cent.
However, this is an improvement for the trust compared with February, when it only reached 62 per cent.
Papers read that the backlog in the target was “showing signs of recovery” following the New Year period, but started to increase in late March and Early April.
The actual number of people waiting more than 62 days now stands at 442 in the trust’s most recent data, compared with the 370 target which would mean the trust is hitting the 62 day benchmark for 70 per cent of people.
Increased backlog numbers, urgent cancer cancer referrals, patients moving from a non-cancer to cancer pathway and those with routine screening being referred on means the number of people actively on the trust’s cancer pathway remains above 4,500.
This is the “highest recorded to date consistently” according to trust papers, with signs of the Easter period further impacting the backlog into May.
In a statement, Duane Mclean, deputy chief operating officer at NUH, said: “In the last year, we have seen an improvement in our position in meeting the 62-day target to treat cancer patients, despite an increase in referrals. We recognise we have more to do, and our services are building improvement plans which will help us on our journey.
“We see seasonal variations in referrals which leads to a pattern of how backlog fluctuates throughout the year.
“Our teams undertake detailed planning work to ensure that there is capacity available to meet the needs of our patients during periods of increased referrals, including factoring in periods of leave for colleagues.
“This includes ensuring periods of staff sickness and vacancies are covered with qualified locum staff and prioritising those patients with the most urgent clinical needs.”
The above-4,500 figure will include people where cancer was not detected in the end and people who do not wish to go forward with the treatment option given to them.