Cancer patients waiting 18 months for treatment

CANCER patients are waiting up to 18 months for treatment amid soaring NHS delays, new figures show.

The statistics released following Freedom of Information requests show one patient waited 541 days for treatment after being referred urgently with suspected cancer Another was kept 446 days, against a target to complete treatment within 62 days.

The NHS figures show that some patients waited more than a year even to see a consultant because cancer was suspected after being referred by a GP. Overall, 69 per cent of trusts had seen their waits lengthen since 2010, the research by Labour shows. Jonathan Ashworth, the shadow health secretary said the Government was “losing control of cancer care”.

The responses from 88 NHS acute and community trusts show that on average, the longest wait for cancer treatment amounted to 213 days.

A spokesman for the Department of Health and Social Care said: “Nobody should wait longer than necessary for treatment and, despite a 115 per cent increase in referrals since 2010, the vast majority of people start treatment within 62 days.”

♦ Women with aggressive breast cancer can be effectively cured in half the time current treatment techniques take, minimising harmful side-effects, researchers have said.