Tierney: Patients suffering as a result of missed cancer targets

SDLP Foyle Assembly candidate, Cllr Brian Tierney, has said that people’s lives are being put at risk after targets for treating cancer were missed again.

Cllr Tierney was speaking following the publication of the cancer waiting time statistics for October to December 2021.

Over the three month period in the Western Trust area patients urgently referred by a GP for suspected cancer waited longer than the 62 day target for treatment.

In the Western Trust the 31 day target for 98 per cent of patients to receive treatment following a decision to treat was met.
However, the target for all urgent breast cancer referrals to be seen within 14 days was missed in all three months.

Cllr Tierney said: “The latest cancer waiting time statistics from the Department of Health make for truly frightening reading.

“While the Western Trust area is performing better than others in some areas, patients are still waiting far too long for vital treatment.

“This just isn’t good enough and I can only imagine the impact this is having on sick people in our communities.

“The long waits some cancer patients are facing for treatment is putting lives at risk.

“People with cancer know that every day is crucial when it comes to treatment to give them the best chance of making a full recovery and it’s an absolute disgrace that we are forcing people who are sick to wait longer and longer for treatment.

“Not being able to treat people in the timeframe required will put patients and their families under huge pressure at what is already a distressing time.

We all know the pressures our health service is dealing with, but even then these figures and the situation that is unfolding for cancer patients in the North is shocking.

“I know that our tireless health staff do everything in their power to get patients the treatment they need, but the reality is our health service is broken and the failure to implement long-recommended reform is having a huge impact as we deal with the fallout from the coronavirus pandemic.

“Nearly a quarter of people in the North are now on a health service waiting list, but for cancer patients the situation is much more desperate.

“My heart goes out to everyone who has been forced to wait for treatment and the SDLP will be bringing forward a number of proposals in the coming weeks to slash waiting lists, save lives and rebuild our health service so that everyone can get the care they need, when they need it.”