... as ‘guaranteed treatment within 12 weeks’ can take up to two years

THOUSANDS of patients have been forced to wait up to two years for vital medical treatment, figures show.

NHS chiefs have admitted that soaring numbers of patients are failing to be seen within the legally required 12 weeks, with one person forced to wait more than 800 days for an appointment.

Health Secretary Jeane Freeman last year pledged to slash waiting times after it was disclosed that the treatment time guarantee to see all patients within 12 weeks had never been met – with waiting times for cancer patients at a six-year high. But health boards have said they are struggling to deal with a rise in demand for vital services.

Figures show that 12,282 patients have waited for up to two years since 2016-17 before being seen, with 3,168 still waiting to be seen by medics.

Of this, as many as 18 patients were left waiting more than two years, sparking fears that people could be left battling serious illnesses while battling to be seen by specialists for treatment.

Scottish Liberal Democrat health spokesman Alex Cole-Hamilton said: ‘Hundreds of patients across Scotland have waited hundreds of days longer than promised for treatment and, in more than one case, over two years longer.

‘The number of people waiting over a year for procedures, when the law says it should take no longer than 12 weeks, is going up and up. This is disrupting people’s lives and work, leaving them in discomfort and pain.’

A Scottish Government spokesman said: ‘The Health Secretary has been clear we want to stop anyone from waiting too long for treatment. That is why the Scottish Government launched its £850million Waiting Times Improvement Plan.’ MAIL NEWSPAPERS CUSTOMER SERVICES: