Two MSPs have warned that NHS Ayrshire & Arran is facing a 'ticking timebomb' in relation to cancer diagnosis.
The warnings come after the revelation that one cancer patient had to endure an eight-month wait before starting their treatment.
New figures for the quarter ending June 30, 2022 show that only 74.3 per cent of patients in NHS Ayrshire & Arran were treated within 62 days.
That figure is way short of the Scottish Government’s own 62-day standard time.
The government’s standard is for 95 per cent of eligible patients to receive cancer treatment from first referral.
But one patient was forced to endure a wait of 255 days, just over eight months, before being treated, the figures reveal.
Conservative MSP Sharon Dowey described the wait as "absolutely shameful."
She said: "It is absolutely shameful that one patient had to wait 255 days to begin treatment here in Ayrshire, and it highlights just how overstretched staff and services are in the NHS under the SNP.
“An early diagnosis is absolutely crucial for patients’ chance of survival so it is hugely worrying that so many are not starting treatment within the two-month target timeframe in NHS Ayrshire and Arran.
“This target in relation to cancer treatment has not been met by the SNP Government for nearly a decade, so they can’t hide behind the pandemic as an excuse."
She added: "It is time for SNP Health Secretary Humza Yousaf to urgently come up with a new plan to ensure patients in NHS Ayrshire and Arran are diagnosed as quickly as possible.”
South Scotland Labour List MSP Colin Smyth said: “These figures are deeply worrying because we know that any delay in diagnosing cancer can have a huge impact on the success of treatment.
“The SNP Government has ignored warning after warning about the pressure on NHS services and the impossible demands being placed on staff without the numbers of doctors and nurses they need, leaving us now with a ticking timebomb of untreated cancer that will cost lives and overwhelm our NHS.
“The government cannot waste any more time before delivering a real cancer catch-up plan we have needed all along, so that everyone can get the treatment they need, when they need it.”
A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “The 31-day standard has been consistently met throughout the Covid-19 pandemic with a median wait of five days. Despite treating more patients on a 62-day pathway compared to pre-Covid this quarter, and with a median wait of 47 days, performance remains challenged overall and we must do more.
“Cancer remains a priority for NHS Scotland but Covid has not gone away – pressures remain in diagnostic and treatment pathways.
“In August we released an additional £10m of funding to Boards to support recovery and redesign of cancer services focussing on the most challenged pathways and to reduce backlogs.
“This funding, supported by our Framework for Effective Cancer Management, will help drive down waiting times and improve patient experience so that cancer patients can receive the best possible care as safely and quickly as possible.”
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