Does failure to meet key targets indicate unacceptable pressure on cancer services in Scotland?
The Scottish Health Secretary Jeanne Freeman has said that it is simply not good enough that health services continue to miss targets on cancer waiting times.
The latest figures from ISD Scotland show that 84.6% of patients were treated within the 62 day standard, which states that 95% of patients urgently referred with a suspicion of cancer will be treated within 62 days. This was down slightly on the previous quarter, and on the previous year.
Ms Freeman said that welcome improvements had been made but that more needed to be done. She cited a recent £6.7m investment in diagnostics as an example of action that the Scottish Government was taking on this issue.
Further information
ISD Scotland: Cancer Waiting Times in NHSScotland