The worst areas for cancer waiting lists have been revealed as figures reveal a horrifying postcode lottery where some patients are waiting up to nearly two YEARS for diagnoses.
NHS data has revealed the appalling extent of waiting times which cancer patients across the country experienced last year, with not a single two-month treatment target met in eight years.
Freedom of Information figures show someone in Somerset waited about a year and eight months for a test or scan, despite the maximum time being at two weeks.
Another patient elsewhere had to wait 18 months to start treatment.
The Labour Party, which obtained the figures, has condemned the long waiting lists as "truly horrifying", saying "every second counts" when it comes to cancer scares.
Out of the 74 hospital trusts which responded to freedom of information requests, these had the longest waiting times for a diagnosis or all-clear (as of January 2023):
- Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospitals NHS trust - 671 days
- Dartford and Gravesham NHS trust - 649 days
- Surrey and Sussex Healthcare NHS trust - 599 days
- George Eliot Hospital NHS trust - 544 days
- King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation trust - 513 days
Current rules set a target of 85% of cancer patients undergoing treatment within two months of an urgent GP referral, but this target has not been met for a single month since 2015.
NHS hospital trusts which had the longest waiting times for treatment (as of January 2023):
- North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Foundation trust - 469 days
- Nottingham University Hospitals NHS trust - 397 days
- Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation trust - 385 days
- Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation trust - 372 days
- Royal United Hospitals Bath NHS Foundation trust - 362 days
Shadow Health Secretary Wes Streeting, who has recovered from kidney cancer, said: “How can the Tories claim our public services are in good shape when cancer patients are left waiting months and even years, while their cancer could be spreading?
“I know from my own experience that every second counts.”
Responding to the figures, a Tory spokesperson said: “We are cutting NHS waiting lists so people get the care they need, including by recruiting a record number of doctors and nurses, and investing an extra £45.6billion into health and social care.”
The Department of Health said: “The NHS has been treating record numbers of patients for cancer over the last two years.
"Over nine in 10 patients are starting cancer treatment within one month, and the number of patients waiting more than 18 months for care has fallen by more than four-fifths since the peak last September.”
