While Covid-19 has delayed many hospital treatments, new breakthrough in biopsies mean many patients will not suffer delays.

Waiting times across the board increased in 2020 as the NHS coped with the global pandemic and soaring infection rates.

But thanks to new technology patients waiting for a prostrate biopsy will be able to get much quicker results.

The PrecisionPoint transperineal access system means prostate biopsies can be conducted under local anaesthetic in an outpatient setting. This minimises the impact on theatre space and hospital beds but offering more safety and security for patients.

This method provides more accurate cancer diagnosis through better access to, and sampling of, the entire prostate. This means that clinicians can categorise and grade those patients most at risk of delayed treatment for their cancer. It also means patients who are diagnosed with a less aggressive cancer can be offered reassurances about their treatment.

Figures released by NHS England have shown that more than 200,000 patients across the country are now waiting more than a year to receive hospital treatment, while the number of people waiting over a year for their treatment is now 150 times higher than in 2019 – a direct result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Many of these include cancer patients, where the backlog of those waiting over 100 days has doubled since last year.