10,000 patients wait too long for cancer treatment
THOUSANDS of patients are having to wait too long to start vital treatment for cancer.
The NHS recommends that no one should wait longer than 62 days after being referred urgently by their GP for suspected cancer.
The target requires 85 per cent of patients to be seen, but this fell to 84.1 per cent in the first quarter of 2014-15, resulting in 10,000 patients waiting too long, say campaigners.
The target was also breached for the first time since 2009 in the preceding quarter – the last quarter of 2013-14.
The number of people waiting more than 62 days in the first six months of 2014 was 9,906.
Figures from NHS England also show that the two-week wait target for women with breast symptoms, not initially thought to be cancer, was breached. Mike Hobday, of Macmillan Cancer Support, said: ‘It’s simply not good enough that the cancer waiting time target for patients to begin treatment following an urgent GP referral has been breached in England for the second quarter in a row.
‘Around 10,000 people have already had to wait longer than the recommended 62 days to start their treatment this year.’
He added: ‘We have some of the poorest survival rates for cancer in Europe and Macmillan is calling on all the political parties to prioritise cancer ahead of the next general election.’
Luciana Berger, Labour’s public health spokesman, said: ‘David Cameron claimed his NHS reorganisation would improve cancer care. The reality is he has in fact made it worse.’
NHS England said the number of patients being referred urgently for cancer investigations had gone up by 18 per cent in the last year. In 2013-14 there were 1.3million people referred urgently compared with just over 1million in 2010-11.
NHS England said it was setting up a taskforce to help maintain waiting time standards.
Last night the Department of Health announced that an extra £250million was being given to hospitals and GP-led organisations to keep waiting times down.
It follows figures showing that an extra 250,000 patients are waiting for planned surgery or treatment compared with this time last year.