NHS Forth Valley and NHS Fife are missing their 62 day referral to treatment guarantee by some distance, a revelation Murdo Fraser has labelled unacceptable.
ISD Scotland said that only 87.5 % of patients in NHS Forth Valley and 91% in NHS Fife “urgently” referred were seen within the Scottish Government’s own 62-day target timeframe between January and March this year.
The Scottish Government’s official target is to deal with 95 per cent of patients within 62 days of urgent cancer referral, but only five health boards managed to achieve that.
Commenting Murdo Fraser MSP said:
“Is it acceptable that cancer patients are waiting more than 62 days to receive treatment, the simple answer is no.
“The Scottish Government can no longer keep offering up lame excuses as to why two-thirds of health boards are failing to hit such critical targets.
“What on earth have ministers been doing over the past year to allow this disgraceful situation to take hold?
“These aren’t patients sent on a whim for a check-up – we are talking about those deemed to need ‘urgent’ surgery on account of them probably having cancer.
“We all know how lethal this disease can be, yet hundreds of ill people are being forced to wait more than two months for potentially lifesaving treatment to begin.
“But it’s not good enough, this is a Scottish Government that has forgotten its priorities, and cancer patients are paying the price.”