Patients getting sicker as they face long waits for NHS care, says top GP

Exclusive: Prof Kamila Hawthorne says delays and uncertainty mean patients feel ‘helpless and forgotten’

Patients are developing cancers and enduring so much pain that they cannot climb stairs because of the 7.2 million-strong waiting list for NHS scans and treatment, Britain’s top GP has said.

Prof Kamila Hawthorne, the chair of the Royal College of GPs, said the record delays for care and the uncertainty for patients of when they would finally be seen was leaving people feeling “helpless and forgotten”.