NHS misses cancer target

Wednesday 27 June 2012

A KEY target for cancer treatment is not being met, figures reveal.

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The Scottish Government set the target of having 95% of patients start treatment within 62 days of being urgently referred when they are suspected of having cancer.

The NHS in Scotland just missed achieving this, hitting 94.8%.

The figures, which cover January to March, are down from the 96.9% recorded in the previous quarter.NHS Grampian, NHS Orkney, NHS Shetland, NHS Fife and NHS Forth Valley all failed to meet the target. The Orkney health board treated 71.4% of patients within 62 days of them being urgently referred.Across Scotland, of those suspected of having breast cancer, 99.2% began treatment within two months of referral. This happened for only 90.9% of patients where colorectal cancer was suspected.However, the figures show another key cancer waiting times target continues to be achieved.In the first three months of the year 97.9% of patients began their treatment within 31 days of a decision being taken on how best to help them.

Contextual targeting label:

Health

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NHS misses cancer target

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