Cancer waiting times in Scotland at worst level on record as SNP NHS record attacked
Only 68.9 per cent of patients on an urgent referral for a suspicion of cancer started treatment within 62 days,
Cancer waiting times are at the worst level on record, new figures have revealed.
Only 68.9 per cent of patients on an urgent referral for a suspicion of cancer started treatment within 62 days, latest quarterly figures out today show.
This was a drop from 73.5 in the previous three months and 83.7 per cent in the quarter ending 31 December 2019 - the last quarter before the covid pandemic.
The Scottish Government target is for 95 per cent of patients to begin treatment in 62 days.
Just one health board across Scotland hit the target - NHS Lanarkshire - while 13 others missed it.
Scottish Labour Health spokesperson Jackie Baillie said: 'These disastrous figures lay bare the true cost of the SNP's mismanagement of our NHS.
' Cancer is Scotland's biggest killer and swift treatment can be the difference between life and death – but under the SNP patients are being abandoned and the founding principles of our NHS are under threat.
'A cancer time-bomb is looming – the SNP must act now to cut these dangerously long waits and deliver the urgent, life-saving care Scottish cancer patients need.
'The truth is our NHS cannot afford a third decade of SNP government – we need a new direction.'
Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton said: ' Cancer patients cannot depend on this SNP government.
' Waiting times have spiralled to the worst on record and the target has never been met since the SNP introduced it almost fifteen years ago. Scotland now has the worst shortage of oncologists of any UK nation.
'It is appalling that people are enduring these lengthy waits when early intervention is crucial to survival in cancer cases.
'Access to screening programmes, diagnosis and treatment is a postcode lottery across the country. We need serious investment in both diagnostics and staff, and an end to patchwork care.
'Staff and patients are being continually failed by a government that never matches its words with action.'
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Daily Mail
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Gray missing in action as Scotland records its worst cancer waiting times on record
Neil Gray was declared 'missing in action' yesterday after it emerged he is on a 'junket' in Japan as Scotland records its worst cancer waiting times on record. The beleaguered SNP health secretary has been accused of letting the NHS 'spiral out of control' as delayed discharges also hit a new high. The 'appalling' figures emerged as doctors warned the health service was 'dying' as Scots increasingly raided savings to go private to avoid huge waiting lists. The Scottish Conservative Party 's health spokesman Dr Sandesh Gulhane said: 'These appalling statistics confirm Scotland is facing a ticking timebomb when it comes to cancer cases on the SNP's watch. 'Yet while cancer waiting times hit record lows and delayed discharge rates spiral out of control, Neil Gray is on a junket abroad. 'In the words of BMA Scotland, our NHS is 'dying before our eyes', but the SNP health secretary is missing in action. 'Neil Gray should be focused on fixing our health service, not globetrotting. 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The Scottish Government confirmed Mr Gray would have known the timetable, but denied he knew the content, when he agreed to be overseas when they came out. The Health Secretary arrived in Japan on Sunday evening and met the trade mission's delegation at the British Embassy in Tokyo on Monday morning. He is also due at Expo 2025 in Osaka this week. He is not expected back in the UK until Friday, the day after MSPs leave Holyrood for the summer recess, letting him duck questions in the chamber about his record. Mr Gray also went on a five-day round trip to Japan in 2023 when he was Economy Secretary, when his flights and hotels cost taxpayers £7,000. Scottish Labour deputy leader Dame Jackie Baillie said: 'It is right that we engage with other nations when it comes to promoting Scotland and strengthening ties. 'However, many will question the timing of this visit by the Health Secretary when our NHS is in such a poor state after years of chronic mismanagement by SNP ministers. 'After making use of a ministerial limo to football matches, it would be wise of Neil Gray to make this trip a more productive one than his previous jaunts. 'And perhaps while he is abroad boasting about Scotland's reputation for pioneering technology, he could tell us when the long-delayed Scottish NHS app will finally launch.' Scottish Lib Dem leader Alex Cole-Hamilton added: 'A cancer time-bomb is looming. The SNP must act now to cut these dangerously long waits and deliver urgent, life-saving care. 'Nothing Neil Gray has done since being appointed health secretary has turned the tide for stressed out staff and patients. 'It's all well and good for Scotland to be advertising its excellent health technology abroad but patients facing the worst ever waits for cancer treatment and delayed discharge might well wish the Health Secretary were at home working out how to drive down waiting lists.' Mr Gray said: 'We are treating more patients with cancer on time, within both standards, compared to the same quarter six years ago - 7.7 per cent more within the 31-day standard and 0.1 per cent more within the 62-day standard. 'Cancer remains a national priority for the Scottish Government. We have directed £14.23 million of the £106 million in additional planned care funding for 2025/26 to cancer waiting times, with a focus on colorectal, urological and breast as our most challenged pathways.' A Scottish Government spokeswoman added: 'While in Japan Mr Gray is taking forward a full schedule of engagements promoting Scotland's health technology sector. This includes a meeting with the Japanese Ministry of Health to discuss the shared challenges of caring for a growing ageing population and explore potential areas for collaboration. 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