A KEY target to make sure the majority of cancer patients wait no more than two months before starting treatment has finally been met in Scotland – three years behind schedule.
Figures yesterday revealed 95.4 per cent of patients began treatment within 62 days of being urgently referred by their GP.
A target to treat at least 95 per cent of patients within two months was set in 2001, and was originally due to have been m
et by the end of 2005.
But this aim has only now been achieved. Figures for October to December last year show the number of patients being seen quickly are up from 94.6 per cent on the previous quarter, and 84.5 at the start of 2007.
Four health boards – Dumfries and Galloway, Fife, Tayside and Western Isles – have still fallen short of the target, which has also not been met in five out of nine cancer categories.
However, health secretary Nicola Sturgeon – who yesterday also opened a "linear accelerator" at Ninewells Hospital in Dundee to provide radiotherapy for cancer patients – welcomed the achievement and praised NHS staff.
She said: "The improvement since this government took office in May 2007 shows how seriously we take this issue. But we must continue to strive for further improvement within specific NHS boards and cancer types, and to ensure this achievement is sustained for the future."
She said a fresh government target means from December 2011 all cancer patients will have to start treatment within 31 days after a decision is made to treat them.
The latest figures highlighted variations between regions and cancer types. Western Isles had the lowest performance, with 92.3 per cent of patients starting treatment within two months. The health board also recorded the lowest performance for head and neck cancers, at 87.9 per cent. While average waits for treatment stood at around 36 days and some patients were treated immediately, others faced much longer waits. The longest wait – 284 days – was for a patient in Lanarkshire with an upper gastrointestinal cancer.
Rosemary Lyness, NHS Lanarkshire's director of acute services, said: "Our priority is to provide the highest standards of care for patients and we regret any instance where we fall below that standard. This was clearly an unacceptable case and was the result of an administrative system failure."
Three of the longest waits were in NHS Lothian with 223 days for a lung cancer patient, 147 days for a lymphoma patient and 216 days someone with skin cancer.
Jackie Sansbury, director of strategic planning at NHS Lothian, said: "While we do see and treat the overwhelming majority of people with suspected cancer quickly, we regret that three people out of around 400 were asked to wait an unacceptable length of time.
"We have investigated these cases and put measures in place to prevent similar situations happening again."
Richard Davidson, Cancer Research UK's director of policy and public affairs,
said: "Waiting for treatment to start can be a very distressing period and, where possible, patients should begin treatment as soon as appropriate.
It's important that everyone diagnosed with cancer has access to treatment within the target waiting times – irrespective of where they live or the type of cancer they are diagnosed with."
'Most of the time, hospitals can pull out all the stops'IN SOME patients there will be a greater sense of urgency which will influence their waiting time. For example, with breast lumps if you are 20 and have a lump which the doctor thinks is benign they are not going to get the same priority as if you are 45 and have an aggressive feeling lump. The chances for cancer in the younger woman are a lot less than in an older patient therefore priority for an urgent appointment must be given proportionate to risk.
Where a GP has particular concerns that their patient needs to be treated more quickly, they would speak to the cancer doctor. We would pick up the phone and let them know when a patient needs to be seen almost straight away.
Most of the time hospitals are able to pull out all the stops and get these patients into the system quickly.
Where a patient is suspected of having cancer, I would talk it through with them very carefully. That is the most important thing. I would explain that I have some concerns which need to be checked out. It could be serious but also it could be nothing and I might be referring them unnecessarily. However, I do not apologise for that because it is a situation where there are concerns and it's better to be safe than sorry. I would then make an urgent referral to a specialist.
Patients should be get notification of a hospital appointment within two or three weeks. I tell them if they've not heard in that time they should contact me to check there's not a glitch the system.
Patients usually already have concerns before them come to me because they have symptoms such as loss of weight, coughing up blood or a suspicious spot on their skin. What they want to know is that you take their problems seriously and will act quickly.
• Dr John Garner is a GP in Edinburgh.
