Cancer treatment targets not being met
More than 40 per cent of people suspected as having cancer are not diagnosed and treated within the required time frame, the most recent figures reveal.
New figures for NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde (NHSGGC), including Renfrewshire, show that 44 per cent of those referred with “an urgent suspicion of cancer” do not start treatment within the 62-day target time.
Data, obtained by the Express, also shows the health board has not met this target for almost 11 years.
Cancer Research said that every day spent awaiting treatment is another day in which cancer can spread, arguing that “chronic staff shortages” and a lack of specialist facilities are contributing to the disastrous results.
Debbie King, Cancer Research UK’s senior external affairs manager in Scotland, said: “Waiting to start cancer treatment is an incredibly worrying time for patients and their families.
“Long days and sleepless nights add to the anxiety of suspecting you have a disease that could progress while left untreated.
“NHS staff are working incredibly hard, but years of chronic workforce shortages and a lack of specialist facilities means the system can’t cope.
“It’s crucial the Scottish Government addresses these issues and commits to funding the recommendations in its cancer strategy to ensure that waiting time targets are met and cancer services across Scotland are fit for now and the future.”
The 62-day target, set by the Scottish Government, aims to prioritise early diagnoses and intervention to ensure cancer patients have the best possible chance of survival.
It demands that at least 95 per cent of people have a confirmed diagnosis and start treatment within 62 days of when cancer was first suspected.
For many people, this means when they see their GP, when they have been referred to a specialist or have had scans or tests.
But the figures, obtained via a freedom of information request, show NHSGGC has not met that target since June 2013. For October to December 2023 – the most recent data available – only 66 per cent of patients were treated within that time.
It also revealed the board has not met its A&E target in four years; it demands people be seen, treated, admitted or discharged within four hours.
A spokesperson for NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde said: “We apologise to anyone who has had to wait longer than they would expect for cancer treatment, or in our emergency departments, and for any distress this may have caused.
“We continue to prioritise emergency, urgent and cancer care, and where there is an urgent suspicion of cancer, we make every effort to ensure a patient is seen as quickly as possible.
“NHSGGC has implemented various measures to help combat longer waiting times, including increased diagnostic capacity and additional clinic capacity to support our patients.”
Health secretary Neil Gray told the Express that the figure revealed the pressure and the scale of cancer cases facing medics – but argued the NHS was treating more patients on 62 and 31-day pathways than before the Covid-19 pandemic.
He said: “We remain absolutely committed to reducing waiting times and a further £10 million of funding has been given in 2023/24 to support this improvement. Cancer remains a national priority for the NHS and Scottish Government which is why we published a new 10-year strategy in June 2023, focused on improving cancer survival and providing equitable access to treatment.”
Years of chronic workforce shortages... means the system can’t cope