UK residents have been warned of shortages of chemicals needed to diagnose many types of cancer, the Independent newspaper reports.
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“Patient lives are being put at risk as thousands of radiological scans are missed due to shortages of chemicals used to diagnose diseases such as prostate and bone cancer,” the newspaper said.
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It is noted that the reasons for the shortage of critical chemicals include a slowdown in their imports into Britain from the EU, a lack of funding, and the closure of key British laboratories.
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The newspaper notes that due to a shortage of cancer diagnostic drugs in some British hospitals, patients are forced to wait up to 50 days for diagnostic procedures, and in some – more than 100 days, which puts their lives at risk.
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According to the newspaper, the problem, in particular, affected British cities such as London, Bath and Oxford.
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The UK healthcare system has been suffering from a severe shortage of healthcare workers for many months. More and more people are leaving the profession due to excessive workload, rising prices and lack of opportunity to improve their skills. The situation is aggravated by strikes by medical staff. The number of people waiting for care in England reached 7.75 million in August 2023, the highest level on record since 2007, according to Britain’s National Health Service (NHS). An international analysis of healthcare systems, The Health Inclusivity Index, was previously published, according to which Britain ranked one of the last places in the world in terms of waiting time for an appointment with a doctor.
