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Oxley S, Kalra A, Sideris M, Itzkowitz N, Evans O, Atakpa EC, Brentnall AR, Dworschak N, Gaba F, Gabe R, Sundar S, Wood N, Nicum S, Taylor A, Dobbs S, McCluggage WG, Nordin A, Legood R, Kehoe S, Ghaem-Maghami S, Manchanda R. Impact of Multiple COVID-19 Waves on Gynaecological Cancer Services in the UK. Cancers (Basel) 2023; 15:cancers15041273. [PMID: 36831615 PMCID: PMC9953843 DOI: 10.3390/cancers15041273] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/06/2022] [Revised: 02/08/2023] [Accepted: 02/14/2023] [Indexed: 02/19/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND This study aimed to assess the impact of multiple COVID-19 waves on UK gynaecological-oncology services. METHODS An online survey was distributed to all UK-British-Gynaecological-Cancer-Society members during three COVID-19 waves from 2020 to2022. RESULTS In total, 51 hospitals (including 32 cancer centres) responded to Survey 1, 42 hospitals (29 centres) to Survey 2, and 39 hospitals (30 centres) to Survey 3. During the first wave, urgent referrals reportedly fell by a median of 50% (IQR = 25-70%). In total, 49% hospitals reported reduced staffing, and the greatest was noted for trainee doctors, by a median of 40%. Theatre capacity was reduced by a median of 40%. A median of 30% of planned operations was postponed. Multidisciplinary meetings were completely virtual in 39% and mixed in 65% of the total. A median of 75% of outpatient consultations were remote. By the second wave, fewer hospitals reported staffing reductions, and there was a return to pre-pandemic urgent referrals and multidisciplinary workloads. Theatre capacity was reduced by a median of 10%, with 5% of operations postponed. The third wave demonstrated worsening staff reductions similar to Wave 1, primarily from sickness. Pre-pandemic levels of urgent referrals/workload continued, with little reduction in surgical capacity. CONCLUSION COVID-19 led to a significant disruption of gynaecological-cancer care across the UK, including reduced staffing, urgent referrals, theatre capacity, and working practice changes. Whilst disruption eased and referrals/workloads returned to normal, significant staff shortages remained in 2022, highlighting persistent capacity constraints.
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Affiliation(s)
- Samuel Oxley
- Wolfson Institute of Population Health, Cancer Research UK, Barts Centre, Queen Mary University of London, Charterhouse Square, London EC1M 6BQ, UK
- Department of Gynaecological Oncology, Royal London Hospital, Barts Health NHS Trust, London E1 1BB, UK
| | - Ashwin Kalra
- Wolfson Institute of Population Health, Cancer Research UK, Barts Centre, Queen Mary University of London, Charterhouse Square, London EC1M 6BQ, UK
- Department of Gynaecological Oncology, Royal London Hospital, Barts Health NHS Trust, London E1 1BB, UK
| | - Michail Sideris
- Wolfson Institute of Population Health, Cancer Research UK, Barts Centre, Queen Mary University of London, Charterhouse Square, London EC1M 6BQ, UK
- Department of Gynaecological Oncology, Royal London Hospital, Barts Health NHS Trust, London E1 1BB, UK
| | - Nicole Itzkowitz
- Wolfson Institute of Population Health, Cancer Research UK, Barts Centre, Queen Mary University of London, Charterhouse Square, London EC1M 6BQ, UK
| | - Olivia Evans
- Wolfson Institute of Population Health, Cancer Research UK, Barts Centre, Queen Mary University of London, Charterhouse Square, London EC1M 6BQ, UK
- Department of Gynaecological Oncology, Royal London Hospital, Barts Health NHS Trust, London E1 1BB, UK
| | - Emma Christine Atakpa
- Wolfson Institute of Population Health, Cancer Research UK, Barts Centre, Queen Mary University of London, Charterhouse Square, London EC1M 6BQ, UK
| | - Adam R. Brentnall
- Wolfson Institute of Population Health, Cancer Research UK, Barts Centre, Queen Mary University of London, Charterhouse Square, London EC1M 6BQ, UK
| | - Nina Dworschak
- Wolfson Institute of Population Health, Cancer Research UK, Barts Centre, Queen Mary University of London, Charterhouse Square, London EC1M 6BQ, UK
| | - Faiza Gaba
- Department of Gynaecological Oncology, Royal London Hospital, Barts Health NHS Trust, London E1 1BB, UK
- Institute of Applied Health Sciences, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen AB24 3FX, UK
| | - Rhian Gabe
- Wolfson Institute of Population Health, Cancer Research UK, Barts Centre, Queen Mary University of London, Charterhouse Square, London EC1M 6BQ, UK
| | - Sudha Sundar
- Institute of Cancer and Genomic Sciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham B15 2TT, UK
| | - Nick Wood
- Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Preston PR2 9HT, UK
| | - Shibani Nicum
- Institute of Cancer Research, University College London, London WC1E 6DD, UK
| | | | - Stephen Dobbs
- Belfast City Hospital, Belfast Health and Social Care Trust, Belfast BT9 7AB, UK
| | - W. Glenn McCluggage
- Department of Pathology, Belfast Health and Social Care Trust, Belfast BT12 6BA, UK
| | - Andy Nordin
- East Kent Gynaecological Oncology Centre, Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother Hospital, Margate CT9 4AN, UK
| | - Rosa Legood
- Department of Health Services Research and Policy, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London WC1H 9SH, UK
| | - Sean Kehoe
- Institute of Cancer and Genomic Sciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham B15 2TT, UK
| | - Sadaf Ghaem-Maghami
- Faculty of Medicine, Department of Surgery & Cancer, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, UK
| | - Ranjit Manchanda
- Wolfson Institute of Population Health, Cancer Research UK, Barts Centre, Queen Mary University of London, Charterhouse Square, London EC1M 6BQ, UK
- Department of Gynaecological Oncology, Royal London Hospital, Barts Health NHS Trust, London E1 1BB, UK
- Department of Health Services Research and Policy, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London WC1H 9SH, UK
- MRC Clinical Trials Unit at UCL, Institute of Clinical Trials & Methodology, Faculty of Population Health Sciences, University College London, London WC1V 6LJ, UK
- Department of Gynaecology, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi 110029, India
- Correspondence:
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