Mspvoicesconcernatcancercareinlanarkshire
Over 20,000 cancer patients are waiting for treatment in Lanarkshire.
And an MSP has warned of a “ticking timebomb” when it comes to crucial cancer diagnostic tests.
In NHS Lanarkshire, 20,695 patients were waiting to be seen as at the end of last year, an 85 per cent increase in the last two years. The number of patients waiting to be seen has also risen by 11 per cent since September last year.
Central Scotland MSP Meghan Gallacher, from the Scottish Conservatives, called the figures “extremely worrying”.
She said: “The backlog of tests that has grown during the pandemic in NHS Lanarkshire has now completely spiralled out of control.
“Patients are not being treated anywhere near quickly enough in NHS Lanarkshire and cancers are at real risk of going undetected. We cannot continue to see inaction from SNP Health Secretary Humza Yousaf.
“He must urgently outline how he plans to tackle this ever-increasing backlog in NHS Lanarkshire and ensure patients are seen within target waiting times.”
Across Scotland over 140,000 people have been unable to get potentially life-saving tests on time, figures released last week show. These include patients who are still to receive an MRI scan, CT scan, colonoscopy, endoscopy or ultrasound as of December 31 - a 12.5 per cent rise since September.
David Ferguson from Cancer
Research UK said: “We remain very worried that very little progress is being made in clearing the backlog caused by the pandemic.
“Staff shortages are at the heart of these delays, and we need to see urgent action.”
A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “Patients continue to be seen based on their clinical urgency, for example, those referred with an urgent suspicion of cancer continue to be prioritised for key diagnostic tests.”