Four in five NHS trusts are missing their cancer waiting time target, damning figures reveal

More than four in five NHS trusts are putting cancer patients at risk of death or serious harm if they do not treat them in time, damning figures have revealed.

Hospitals are supposed to treat 85 percent of patients within 62 days of receiving an urgent referral, to maximize survival rates.

But the latest figures from NHS England show that 123 trusts (82.5 per cent) fell short of this target in August.

Cancer charities called the robberies ‘unacceptable’ and called on the government to take urgent action to tackle the ‘deadly delays’.

Liberal Democrats health and social care spokesperson Helen Morgan, who analyzed the cancer statistics (please save), said: ‘Receiving a cancer diagnosis is one of the most terrifying times of a person’s life’ (file image)

Previous studies have shown that every month of delay in starting cancer treatment typically reduces survival chances by 10 percent.

The new data shows a host of other healthcare targets are also being missed, with experts warning the NHS is heading into winter ‘in poor shape’.

The waiting list for routine hospital treatment in England rose during the first full month of the Labor government, reaching its highest level in ten months.

At the end of August, an estimated 6.42 million patients were waiting for 7.64 million treatments – up from 6.39 million and 7.62 million respectively since July.

These are the highest figures since October 2023.

The increase comes as some GPs cut the number of appointments they offer by half – to just 25 a day – in a row under a new NHS contract.

Siva Anandaciva, chief analyst at think tank King’s Fund, said: ‘The NHS is heading into winter in poor shape.

Shadow Health Secretary Karin Smyth said: ‘This government is working rapidly to deliver radical reform of the NHS through the 10-year health plan’

“Industrial action continues, financial pressures are increasing and key performance targets continue to be missed.

‘Despite the hard work of staff, patient care in the NHS is falling short of expectations.

‘The government has diagnosed the NHS as broken and now they need to fix it.’

NHS England data shows that 3,335 patients had waited more than 18 months to start routine treatment at the end of August, up from 2,738 in July.

Meanwhile, the number of people waiting more than 12 hours in A&E for a decision to actually admit admission was 38,880 in September, up from 28,494 in August.

Professor Frank Smith, vice-president of the Royal College of Surgeons of England, said: ‘Too many patients are still left to live in pain and fear, potentially preventing them from returning to work and helping our economy grow.’

Dr. Tim Cooksley, former president of the Society for Acute Medicine, said 12-hour emergency department wait times were “more than 20 percent higher than last year, with 38,880 patients.”

He added: ‘This is a dire situation for the patients who receive degrading care on the ward, and for the staff who are stretched to the limit.’

NHS England said emergency department staff had their busiest September on record, with 2.21 million visitors and 530,824 emergency admissions.

Professor Sir Stephen Powis, National Medical Director of the NHS, added: ‘These latest figures show that the pressure we saw over the summer is not letting up with too many patients waiting too long for treatment.

‘We know this is likely to be another incredibly busy winter, with extra demand and the threat of a ‘triple epidemic’ of Covid, flu and RSV.’

MP Helen Morgan, Liberal Democrats health and social care spokesperson, who analyzed the cancer statistics (please save), said: ‘Receiving a cancer diagnosis is one of the most terrifying moments of a person’s life.

‘Everyone should get the treatment and care they need, when they need it. Unfortunately, we have heard countless stories where that is simply not the case.”

Kate Seymour, head of advocacy at Macmillan Cancer Support, said: ‘Current figures on cancer waiting times show that too many people are still waiting too long for cancer treatment.

‘Let us not lose the ability to be shocked by this and remember that behind these unacceptable figures are real people who are concerned about whether or not they will have cancer, or when their treatment will begin.’

Health Minister Karin Smyth said: ‘This government is working rapidly to deliver radical reform of the NHS through the 10-year health plan.’