There are not enough NHS staff to meet the needs of those diagnosed with cancer, according to the Macmillan Cancer Support charity.

Some 44% of cancer nurse specialists said that their workload is having a negative impact on patient care and one in five people recently diagnosed with or treated for cancer (17%) said the healthcare professionals who cared for them seemed to have unmanageable workloads.

Macmillan also reported that cancer waiting times performance are getting longer.

Across all nine NHS England cancer targets, the past 12 months recorded the lowest proportion of patients seen or treated within the time frames for any year since records began.

Macmillan’s director of policy Moira Fraser-Pearce said: “Every 90 seconds someone in the UK is diagnosed with cancer, and more than two-thirds of patients tell us they are not getting the support they need from the NHS.”

Commenting on the Queen’s Opening of Parliament speech, Fraser-Pearce added: “The new government must now fulfil the promise to grow and support the NHS workforce, with clearly defined plans to build a cancer workforce fit for the future.”

Lynda Thomas, chief executive at Macmillan Cancer Support, commented: “NHS staff do an extraordinary job faced with huge pressures, but as increased demand for our services shows, there simply aren’t enough of them to meet the needs of the growing number of people living with cancer.”

She added: “The newly-formed government must urgently deliver on its promises to prioritise a fully-funded plan for our NHS workforce so that everyone living with cancer can receive the very best care and support they need.”