healthmedicinet

In some parts of England, one in five cancer patients wait longer than two months before having their tumor removed, official figures show.

Waiting times are worst in North West and South West London, where 20.2 per cent of patients did not have surgery within eight weeks of being diagnosed with a cancer, according to a Labor Party analysis of NHS England data.

In Greater Manchester, the best performing region, 8.9 percent of patients had to wait that long.

The NHS targets state that 85 per cent of cancer patients should start their first treatment, usually surgery, within two months of an urgent GP referral.

But this target has not been met since 2015 and was only 59.2 percent in June.

The figures show that receiving prompt and quality care is determined by patients’ postal codes, Labor said.

NHS data on cancer waiting times also showed that only six in 10 cancer patients were seen within the two-month target. Nearly 6,600 patients had to wait more than 62 days for treatment for surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy after an urgent referral from their GP. According to NHS guidelines, 85 per cent of cancer patients should be seen within this time frame. This target has not been achieved nationally since December 2015

It looked at performance data from Cancer Alliance – collections of NHS hospital trusts and social care organizations that oversee cancer care. There are 21 alliances in England.

A fifth of patients (20.2 per cent) under the Peninsula Cancer Alliance, which includes Devon, Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly, waited at least two months for surgery.

The West Midlands (20.1 per cent), East England South (19.9 per cent), Thames Valley (19.8 per cent) and East England North (19.1 per cent) were also among the worst performers.

At the other end of the scale, less than one in ten patients in Greater Manchester (8.9 per cent) waited more than eight weeks for cancer surgery.

The analysis also found that four in ten patients in parts of the country wait more than two months for chemotherapy.

About 43.5 per cent of patients in West Yorkshire and Harrogate and 40.5 per cent in North East London had to wait that long.

Meanwhile, waiting times for chemotherapy were lowest in Thames Valley, where 19.9 percent of patients had to wait eight weeks or longer.

Labor said the analysis also showed that people in poorer parts of the country are more likely to have a late cancer diagnosis.

About 47 percent of cancer patients in the most disadvantaged communities are diagnosed too late, compared to 39 percent in the least disadvantaged communities.

So far this year, more than 95,000 people with an urgent referral for suspected cancer have had to wait more than two weeks to see a consultant, Labor said.

Shadow Health Minister Andrew Gwynne said: ‘Receiving prompt and quality cancer care should not depend on your postcode.

“Thirteen years of conservative mismanagement of the NHS has meant that healthcare cannot be there for too many people when they need it.

‘Getting cancer patients back to treatment in time will be a mission of the next Labor government.’

A spokesman for the Department of Health and Social Care said: ‘Cancer survival rates are improving, with the overall survival rate in the first year increasing by 9 percent to 75 percent.

“More people are also being seen and treated by a record number of staff than ever before, but we know there is still more to be done.

“That is why we have made waiting list reduction one of the government’s top five priorities, supported by a long-term staffing plan.

“We also opened 114 community diagnostic centers that provide 4.6 million tests, including to detect cancer.”

A source close to Health Secretary Steve Barclay said: ‘The Health Secretary recently announced further action to address disparities in cancer outcomes with a national rollout of the hugely successful lung cancer screening programme.

“There is no such initiative in the Labour-run Welsh NHS, where cancer patients are also waiting longer to start treatment.”