Patients waiting longer than six weeks for radiological test trebles
The number of patients waiting longer than the six-week target for radiological tests has trebled in just four months, figures have revealed.
The number of patients waiting longer than the six-week target for radiological tests has trebled in just four months, figures have revealed.
At the end of February this year, 708 people were waiting longer than this, official figures showed, with the total then increasing to 2,187 by the end of June.
A report on waiting times for key diagnostic tests showed there has been an "increasing trend in the number of patients waiting more than six weeks for all radiology tests over the last seven months".
Cancer Research UK has now raised concerns, saying "much more needs to be done" to ensure people are diagnosed quickly.
The health charity spoke out after latest figures from the NHS showed across Scotland on June 30 there were 60,838 people waiting for tests, of whom 92.2% had been waiting less than the target time while 7.8% had been waiting six weeks or more.
That is up from 5.4% on March 31 this year but is better than June 30 2015, when 10.7% of people were recorded as waiting six weeks or more for the checks.
In March 2009 the Scottish Government set the goal that patients needing eight key diagnostic tests and investigations would wait no longer than six weeks.
But more than 13,200 patients waited longer than six weeks for a diagnostic test between April and June 2016, according to Cancer Research UK.
Gregor McNie, the charity's senior public affairs manager for Scotland, said: "These tests are important because, if a doctor suspects a patient has cancer, the sooner the disease is diagnosed, the more successful treatment is likely to be.
"The fact so many patients are waiting longer than six weeks for such a vital test is hugely worrying and simply not good enough."
At the end of June this year, 99.2% of all those patients waiting for tests had had them carried out within the six-week target - with this being met for 95.1% of patients waiting for radiology tests and 84% of those who needed an endoscopy, where a small camera is put into the body.
Overall, the report showed that "over the last ten months performance has remained above 90%, fluctuating between 90.3% at September 30 2015 and 94.7% at February 29 2016", although there has been a "slight decrease in performance over recent months, from 94.6% at March 31 2016 to 92.2% at June 30 2016".
The number of patients waiting more than six weeks for an endoscopy reached a high of 4,876 at April 30 2015, according to the figures, but then dropped to 2,355 at March 31 2016. The number had increased to 2,872 at April 30 2016 before decreasing again to 2,565 at June 30 2016.
The data revealed an "increasing trend in the number of patients waiting more than six weeks for all radiology tests over the last seven months".
The report said: "Between July 31 2015 and November 2015, the number of patients waiting over six weeks decreases from 2,315 to 329.
"The number of patients waiting over six weeks then starts to increase to 1,245 at January 31 2016 before decreasing to 708 at February 29 2016.
"Numbers then show a month-on-month increase; rising to 2,187 at June 30 2016. This increase is largely due to the number of patients waiting over six weeks for a non-obstetric ultrasound."