Scans for cancer patients too expensive

London: Family doctors have been ordered to ration the number of patients they send for life-saving cancer scans to save money.

They are being told to slash the number they refer to hospital for tests including ultrasounds, MRIs and CT scans commonly used to spot tumours.

Last night experts warned the cost-saving measures increased the risk of patients being diagnosed too late and dying unnecessarily.

Britain has one of the lowest cancer survival rates in Europe, and experts say late diagnosis is to blame.

The cuts are being brought in despite Government pledges to give GPs better access to cancer tests in the hope of saving 5,000 lives a year.

Health Secretary Andrew Lansley promised to set aside £750 million (Dh4.4 billion) to help family doctors send patients directly for scans instead of having to refer them to a consultant to decide whether or not they should have a scan.

This process could add several weeks on to the diagnosis by the time patients have waited for an appointment and a slot for a scan.

But it has since emerged that a quarter of Primary Care Trusts are actively discouraging GPs from sending patients for these tests.

Dr Clare Gerada, chairman of the Royal College of GPs, warned that stopping GPs from sending patients for scans will delay diagnosis of cancer.

She said: "This is about money and finances, not about putting patients first.

"How can a junior doctor in a hospital refer for an ultrasound while I — with 25 years' experience — have to refer a patient to a specialist?"

— Daily Mail