‘Terrifying’ cancer figures show three out of 10 waiting too long for treatment

Performance against a key cancer waiting times standard has hit a record low, with new figures showing more than three out of 10 patients not starting treatment within two months.

The Scottish Government’s target is for 95% of patients to start receiving treatment within 62 days of being referred with an urgent suspicion of cancer.

But in the first three months of 2023 that was achieved for just 69.4% of patients, down from the 71.7% that was achieved from October to December 2022.

As the data was published, Macmillan Cancer Support accused the Scottish Government of “letting cancer care and our health service descend into crisis”.

Head of advocacy Kate Seymour stated: “These figures are shocking and the fact they are the worst on record is unacceptable.

“Too many people across Scotland are facing dangerously long waits for cancer tests and treatment.

“The sad reality is that cancer care is in crisis after years of the government’s failure to act.”

She added: “Staff across the system are doing the very best they can but are stretched to breaking point. They have been abandoned, thus letting cancer care and our health service descend into crisis”.

Dr Sorcha Hume of Cancer Research UK described the latest figures as “disappointing but not unexpected”.

With the Scottish Government having recently launched its new 10-year cancer strategy, she said this needed to be backed up with funding to recruit and train specialist staff.

Scottish Conservatives branded the situation “utterly disgraceful”, with health spokesman Dr Sandesh Gulhane stating: “These terrifying figures should be a source of shame for the SNP Government.”

The 62-day standard was not met for any cancer type – but for patients with prostate cancer, less than a third (32.6%) began getting help within 62 days, data from Public Health Scotland shows.

That compares to the 91.5% of melanoma patients who started treatment within two months.

The 62-day treatment target has not been achieved for 95% of patients since the final quarter of 2012 – more than a decade ago.

The latest figures showed none of Scotland’s 15 regional NHS boards achieved this target.

It comes after 4,220 patients were referred for cancer treatment with an urgent suspicion in the period January to March 2023, with this total down by 1% on the previous quarter.

Dr Gulhane said: “It is utterly disgraceful that over 30% of cancer patients are not starting treatment within two months of diagnosis, despite the best efforts of dedicated clinicians. That could be having a devastating impact on their chances of survival.”

The Conservative MSP added: “The worsening trend in cancer waiting times fully exposes Humza Yousaf’s disastrous time in charge of Scotland’s NHS. In every single quarter on his watch, cancer waiting times worsened.

“Having failed upwards into the role of First Minister he cannot continue to hide behind the pandemic for these appalling waiting times. The SNP have not met their cancer waiting time for over a decade.”

Dr Gulhane added: “It is time Humza Yousaf and the SNP Government fully focused on this ticking timebomb facing cancer patients, rather than pushing their obsession with independence at every turn.”

Labour health spokesperson Jackie Baillie also criticised the government, saying the latest figures should be a “red alert” to ministers.

She added: “Cancer remains Scotland’s biggest killer – but it is clear that thousands of Scots are waiting an unacceptably long time to be treated.

“We know what this means – poorer patient outcomes with the SNP government to blame.

“NHS staff are working tirelessly but are being failed by this government and its inadequate cancer plan.”

Meanwhile Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton hit out at the “government’s complete and utter failure when it comes to treating Scots who have been diagnosed with cancer”.

He stated: “So many individuals and their families are being forced to wait day-after-day for the help they need. Humza Yousaf owes every one of them an apology for allowing things to get so bad during his time as health secretary.

“It’s now incumbent upon Michael Matheson to pull out all the stops in his efforts to tackle these waiting times urgently.

“Early intervention in cancer cases is crucial to chances of survival so the stakes here could simply not be higher – it’s a matter of life and death.”

Another target, for 95% of patients to start receiving help within 31 days of a decision being made to treat them, was also missed – though only narrowly.

This was achieved for 94% of patients, down slightly from 94.1% in the final three months of 2022.

The 31-day target was achieved by seven out of 15 health boards, being met in NHS Ayrshire and Arran, NHS Dumfries and Galloway, NHS Forth Valley, NHS Grampian, NHS Orkney, NHS Shetland and NHS Western Isles.

A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “NHS Scotland remains under pressure and this is reflected in the fact that we’re treating more patients on 62 and 31-day pathways than before the Covid-19 pandemic.

“There has been almost 800 additional cancer patients treated this quarter alone, compared to the same time pre-pandemic.

“Cancer remains a national priority, within the Scottish Government and across NHS Scotland, with urgent suspicion of cancer referrals continuing to be prioritised.

“That is why we have recently announced the new 10-year Cancer Strategy which takes a comprehensive approach to improving patient pathways, from prevention and diagnosis through to treatment and post-treatment care.”