Anne Li April 2nd, 2017
Waiting times for cancer patients in Scotland have been described as ‘unacceptable’ after new figures show that a key target has been missed for the fourth year in a row. Health boards should ensure at least 95% of patients urgently referred with a suspicion of cancer will wait a maximum of 62 days from referral to starting treatment. But figures (link is external) show that only 87.5% of patients started treatment within the target time in the last 3 months of 2016. This means that hundreds of patients are waiting longer than they should for treatment. Gregor McNie, Cancer Research UK’s senior public affairs manager in Scotland, said that the latest figures show once again a worrying picture for cancer services. "Speedy diagnosis and access to treatment is key to improving someone's chances of survival so it's absolutely critical we see improvements soon,” he said. The target was met by only 5 out of 15 health boards in Scotland.
See original article at: https://www.cancerresearchuk.org/about-us/cancer-news/news-report/2017-03-29-unacceptable-cancer-treatment-waiting-times-condemned-as-scottish-targets-missed-again