More than half of cancer test waits longer than six weeks

More than half of the people waiting to receive a key cancer test have not been seen within the six-week target, official figures show.

Some 141,262 patients were still to receive an MRI scan, CT scan, colonoscopy, endoscopy or ultrasound as of December 31 – a 12.5% rise since September.

The latest NHS figures released on Tuesday show that 50.4% of those on the waiting list have not been seen within the Scottish Government’s six-week target, a jump from 42.2% since the previous quarter.

The number of patients waiting more than a year for an endoscopy also rose, from 11.2% to 13%.

According to the government’s standards, no patient should wait more than six weeks for one of the eight tests, although this target has not been met since 2010.

The size of the waiting list, the statistics show, is 59.8% bigger than the average for the year before the onset of the pandemic.

The figures coincide with the release of statistics on hospital waiting times – where the Scottish Government aims to ensure patients wait no longer than 18 weeks from their referral before treatment begins.

More than a quarter of those referred for hospital treatment missed the 18-week target, the figures show.

Of the 213,889 patients seen between early October and the end of December, 74.3% were seen within the target time, a drop of 0.8% from the previous quarter and 5.2% lower than the quarterly average from before the pandemic.