Agonising wait for 100,000 in NHS cancer delay scandal
SOME 100,000 patients have been forced to wait longer than two weeks to find out if they have cancer.
A target for treatment to start within two months was also missed, as was the four-hour aim to be attended to in A&E.
The NHS figures were held back in a “cover-up”, says Labour. The information is normally published on the first Thursday of each month. But these figures came out yesterday, amid the election drama.
Finding out if you have cancer within a fortnight of seeing a GP is a key NHS patient right. But in the past year, 104,487 patients have waited two weeks-plus to see a consultant, reveals an analysis by Macmillan Cancer Support. Nationally, the target of 93% seeing a specialist within two weeks was missed in April.
Moira Fraser, from Macmillan Cancer Support, said: “It is only the second time this target has been breached since 2009. It’s not fair to leave people in the lurch at this crucial stage.”
Other figures showed that in April there were 382,000 patients waiting longer than the target time of 18 weeks for routine treatment, the largest since September 2008.
Patients Association’s John Kell said: “Failure to fund the NHS adequately is the root of this deteriorating performance.”