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Cancer Waits: Government must wake up to problem
June 7, 2004 12:00 AM
The Government must wake up to the scale of the problem over waits for cancer treatment the Liberal Democrats said today.
Waiting times for cancer patients to have radiotherapy treatment in the UK have increased in the last six years according to the Royal College of Radiographers. Waiting times for the x-ray treatment for patients who have had breast cancer surgery have lengthened by two weeks since 1998 and are now an average of five weeks.
Paul Burstow MP, Liberal Democrat Shadow Health Secretary, said:
"This is a critical example of the hidden waits that do not show up on Government statistics. Ministers are happy to publish statistics on cancer treatment where they are meeting their targets, but have failed to publish most waiting times.
"It is one thing that the lack of published information leaves people in the dark, but it seems Ministers are in the dark too. It is about time they woke up to the scale of the problem. Patients deserve to know not just how long it will take to get the treatment, but how long they will wait for a diagnosis as well - the total waiting times should be published.
"Government targets for cancer diagnosis and certain cancer treatments mean that patients not covered by the targets wait longer. The shortages of staff and equipment causing these long waits must be addressed."
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