Cancer treatment times ‘unacceptable’

● Only five health boards met the 62 days for referral target in final months of 2016

Cancer waiting times in Scotland have been labelled “unacceptable” by leading charities after new figures revealed key targets have been missed again.

Hundreds of patients are waiting longer than they should for treatment, according to statistics covering the final three months of 2016.

Health boards should ensure at least 95 per cent of patients urgently referred with a suspicion of cancer will wait a maximum of 62 days from referral to first cancer treatment.

Statistics show only 87.5 per cent of patients – 2,846 out of 3,254 – started treatment within the 62-day standard in the final quarter of last year, compared to 87.1 per cent in the previous quarter.

Only five health boards – Borders, Dumfries and Galloway, Lanarkshire, Orkney and Shetland – met the target.

The 31-day standard – to ensure 95 per cent of patients will wait no more than 31 days from decision to treat to first cancer treatment – was also missed.

In the final three months of 2016, 94.1 per cent of patients started treatment within the 31-day standard, a slight decrease from 94.3 per cent in the previous quarter. The 31-day standard was met by 11 out of 15 NHS boards.

Janice Preston, of Macmillan Cancer Support, said: “It is unacceptable that the cancer waiting times targets have been missed for four years in a row. We would like all health boards to list the reasons why they are missing the targets so we can look at ways of improving services for cancer patients at such a vital time.”

Health Secretary Shona Robison said the Scottish Government wants to do more to ensure targets are met.

She said: “Backed by our five-year £100 million cancer strategy, last December I announced a number of changes to benefit patients and increase access for all cancer patients – particularly focused on urology and colorectal cancer.

“We are also reforming outpatient services, streamlining access to cancer specialists and decreasing the time it takes to get a diagnosis.”

Gregor Mcnie, of Cancer Research UK, said: “These latest figures show once again a worrying picture for cancer services, with many patients still waiting an unacceptably long time to start cancer treatment.”

Scottish Conservative shadow health secretary Donald Cameron said: “People are right to question why targets have been missed for the fourth consecutive year. The SNP should be doing everything it can to ensure more patients are being seen within the target timescale.

“Instead they’ve let standards slide and as a result thousands of patients are not receiving the treatment that they need when they need it.

“It’s inexcusable for the SNP to continually brush these missed targets aside, especially when it’s well known receiving swift treatment for cancer can often make all the difference in improving outcomes for these patients.”

Ms Robison announced £180,600 of funding to decrease health inequalities connected to cervical cancer.