Cancer waiting times target missed for almost fifth of patients

A key waiting times target for patients needing cancer treatment is being missed in almost a fifth of cases, new figures have revealed.

While the Scottish Government has set the target of having 95% of urgent referrals starting treatment within 62 days, official data showed this only happened in 81.4% of cases in the first three months of this year.

Performance against the waiting times target has fallen from the 90.8% achieved by the NHS in Scotland three years ago and is down from 82.7% in the final quarter of 2019.

Opposition politicians said cancer waiting times had become a “national scandal'', while health campaigners said the statistics showed there were not enough staff to meet the target despite medics “working harder than ever''.

Gregor McNie, Cancer Research UK's head of external affairs in Scotland, said: “Many patients are still waiting too long after an urgent GP referral to get a diagnosis and start treatment.

“For anyone going through tests and treatment for cancer, it's an incredibly anxious time and delays can make that worse.

“Diagnosing more cancers at an early stage will mean more people need to be referred for tests.

“But these figures suggest that, despite working harder than ever, there aren't enough staff to deliver the amount of tests required now or in the future.''

He added: “Every quarter, figures emerge that show the NHS continues to be under immense strain.

“To have any chance of meeting its ambitions to diagnose cancer earlier, the Scottish Government needs to invest to ensure we have enough key cancer staff now and in the future.''

Across Scotland, a total of 3,692 patients were urgently referred to cancer services in the period January to March 2019.

But NHS statistics showed in the first quarter of 2019 only three of Scotland's regional health boards - NHS Lanarkshire, NHS Orkney, and NHS Shetland - managed to achieve the 95% standard.

For those suspected to have bowel cancer or urological cancer, only two-thirds of patients - 66.5% and 66.3% respectively - began treatment within the target time.

The target of having 95% of patients start within 62 days was not met for any of the 10 different types of cancer - although in lung cancer cases 92.1% began treatment in this time.

With Health Secretary Jeane Freeman having been in the post for 12 months, the Tories claimed she had presided over a “year of failure'' for the NHS in Scotland.

Health spokesman Miles Briggs said: “People who have been urgently referred for cancer treatment have never waited longer for their treatment to begin - that's an abysmal reflection on her tenure.

“These are people whose chances of survival slip as every day goes by yet this nationalist Government is sitting on its hands.

“For 12 years we have had an SNP Government obsessed with nothing but independence - and our NHS has suffered as a result.''

Liberal Democrat health spokesman Alex Cole-Hamilton said: “The Scottish Government's record on cancer waits is a national scandal.

“When people get diagnosed with cancer it's a distressing time for them, and those close to them.

“You'd expect on the spot action but these statistics show that expectation is far from reality.''

He added: “No-one should be forced to endure such a prolonged period of anxiety and long waits could jeopardise patients' chance of recovery.

“The Scottish Government set out its plan to meet this target eight months ago, but since then performance has got worse and worse.

“Ministers have a responsibility to properly resource the NHS, both in terms of funding and staff.''

A second cancer waiting times target was also missed - by the narrowest of margins.

A total of 94.9% of patients began getting help within 31 days of a decision being made to treat their cancer - just below the 95% target.