Target cancer treatment time missed for 13% of patients

Tayside and Fife cancer waiting times are worst for 10 years

Cancer waiting times are the worst for 10 years, campaigners have said, as new figures showed 13% of patients who are urgently referred do not start treatment in the target time.

The Scottish Government’s ambition is for 95% of those who are referred because cancer is suspected to be treated within two months.

But official figures showed that in the period April to June 2017 only 86.9% of patients began receiving help within 62 days – down from 88.1% in the previous quarter.

NHS Tayside were among the health boards that missed the target, with 88.1% having treatment started within 62 days. NHS Fife were closer with 92.7%, but still missed out on the target.

Gavin Main, associate medical director at NHS Tayside, said “Our cancer teams work extremely hard ensuring every patient is tracked through each stage of their journey. By doing this, we can intervene or escalate cases immediately if there appears to be any delay in treatment.”

An NHS Fife spokesperson said: “Whilst the vast majority of patients were seen within the 62-day target and above the national average, we continue to explore ways of improving our performance, including making treatment pathways for patients with cancer more effective and working with neighbouring boards to improve access to testing.”

Health secretary Shona Robison announced a new delivery group is to be set up to improve waiting times for diagnosis and treatment for cancer patients – conceding that currently “some waits are too long”.

Janice Preston, the head of Macmillan Cancer Support in Scotland said: “Waiting times for cancer treatment are now worse than they were 10 years ago when they were first introduced.

“Waiting to start treatment is an incredibly stressful time for most people. It’s vital the reasons behind these delays are understood and a solution found.”

Health secretary Shona Robison has conceded that some waiting times are too long.