“CRIPPLING” understaffing in the NHS has meant that over 100,000 cancer sufferers have missed out on an early diagnosis in a single year, Cancer Research UK has warned.

A new report from the charity shows that about 115,000 patients in England were diagnosed with stage three or four cancer in 2017.

The statistic was obtained from Public Health England, but the true figure could be higher, as there are no records of what cancer diagnosis 19 per cent of patients received.

Cancer Research UK said that serious staff shortages had contributed significantly to the delays, and that there was a “desperate shortage” of workers trained to carry out cancer diagnoses.

It also warned that diagnostic staff, endoscopists and radiologists are under increasing pressure due to unfilled vacancies in the NHS.

Cancer Research UK policy director Emma Greenwood said: “It’s unacceptable that so many people are diagnosed late.

“Although survival has improved, it’s not happening fast enough. More referrals to hospital means we urgently need more staff.

“The government’s inaction on staff shortages is crippling the NHS, failing cancer patients and the doctors and nurses who are working tirelessly to diagnose and treat them.”

The government has no plans to focus on specifically recruiting workers who can identify and diagnose cancer.

A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: “Cancer is a priority for this government. Survival rates are at a record high and in the NHS Long Term Plan, we committed to detecting three-quarters of all cancers at an early stage by 2028.”

Labour shadow health secretary Jonathan Ashworth said: “The stress and anxiety a patient facing cancer goes through is immense and these figures are a reminder that years of Tory cutbacks and understaffing has left patients not being seen on time or waiting longer increasingly worried for test results.

“Early diagnosis leads to better outcomes and so the government must urgently bring forward a fully funded staffing plan for our NHS.

“Ministers should hang their heads in shame — but, as Boris Johnson’s top adviser has confirmed, the Tories don’t care about the NHS.”