NHS England cancer waiting times data for January shows that all targets for breast cancer were missed, fuelling concerns over growing delays to both diagnosis and treatment.

The two-week wait target for people referred with suspected breast cancer was not met, with just 66.7% of patients seen within two weeks in January 2021 compared to the 93% target.

The 31-day target of 96% of patients starting their first treatment within 31 days of diagnosis was also missed for breast cancer (93.9%) and for cancer overall (94.0%), as was the 62-day target of 85% of patients starting treatment within 62 days of urgent GP referral, with figures of 79.8% and 71.2%, respectively.

Breast Cancer Now has already warned that almost 11,000 people in the UK could be living with undiagnosed breast cancer due to disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

“With all waiting time targets for breast cancer being missed in January it’s deeply worrying that the pandemic continues to take its toll,” said the charity’s chief executive Delyth Morgan. “With immense pressures on the chronically under-resourced imaging and diagnostic workforce the government needs to take urgent action to invest long term and tackle the rapidly growing crisis facing the cancer workforce.”

The NHS prescription charge in England is set to increase to £9.35 from April for single prescription items, with price increases also announced for prescription prepayment certificates.

The price of single prescription items will increase from £9.15 to £9.35, while three-month prescription prepayment certificates are set to rise from £29.65 to £30.25. The cost of a 12-month prescription prepayment certificate will climb from £105.90 to £108.

The Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS) says the move is “totally unacceptable”, with chair Claire Anderson arguing that the increase in cost “will only add to the highly concerning levels of health inequalities in this country, and no-one should be put in a position where they have to go without their medicines because they can’t afford to pay.” She added: “By not taking their medicines, people can subsequently become unwell and as a result place more pressure on our health service through hospital admissions. In this current climate, we need to be doing everything we can to ease this pressure and give patients access to their regular medicines without difficulty.

“As a member of the Prescription Charges Coalition, we’ll continue to campaign against charges for prescriptions in England, which are free in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. There must be no barrier between a patient and life-saving medicines.”

The Coalition’s chair Laura Cockram also noted that “by continuing to drive up the cost of prescriptions, the government is ignoring clear evidence that the charge is a false economy that leaves people unable to afford vital medication, which can then place increased pressure on the NHS through emergency hospital admissions”.

A Department of Health and Social Care spokeswoman stressed that “nearly 90% of prescription items are dispensed free of charge in community pharmacies in England and existing exemptions are in place covering children, pregnant women, and those over 60, on a low income or with medical conditions like cancer, epilepsy and diabetes.”