Highland cancer patient waited 8 months for treatment as a quarter miss two month target sparking criticism from Edward Mountain who warns delays can impact survival
Over a quarter of Highland cancer patients are waiting more than two months for treatment including one patient who had to wait 257 days - just under eight-and-a-half months.
MSP Edward Mountain - himself a cancer survivor - said that such waiting times in the north should be a “source of shame” for SNP ministers.
Public Health Scotland figures reveal 26.1 per cent of NHS Highland cancer patients were not seen within the two-month target time after being referred for treatment.
The SNP’s target is for 95 per cent of cancer patients to be seen within 62 days after being referred, meaning that their target was again missed by a significant margin.
Yet the percentage of cancer patients in the Highlands who were not treated within the target window is reflective of the national average (26.8 per cent).
Mr Mountain called on health secretary Neil Gray to specify how waiting times in the Highlands, and Scotland-wide, will be improved - highlighting the government has not met its targets since 2012.
Mr Mountain knows that any delays to treatment risks patients’ chances of survival but also that waits can be “psychologically debilitating”.
And he would know because in October 2022 he revealed publicly that he had been suffering from bowel cancer and had a Stoma fitted.
He said at the time: “Being told you have cancer on a telephone in your parliamentary office sucks, as does waiting 10 days for a follow-up appointment.”
He later stated: “I have undertaken radiotherapy, chemotherapy and I’ve had successful major surgery to remove the area where the bowel cancer was located.”
That showed him first hand how hard frontline staff are working and how many resources they lacked.
“My personal contact with the NHS allowed me to see how hard they work,” he said. “But what is also clear to me is that our frontline staff do not have the resources they need.
“That means that there are too many patients that struggle to get seen, to get diagnosed, and worse still, to get prompt treatment.”
Now that new figures are out confirming his fears about the crisis in NHS cancer care, he said: “When you get a cancer diagnosis it felt to me like my body was being invaded by this foreign object and I could not do anything about it. Treatment feels like you are getting your body back.
“The time between diagnosis and treatment feels like, even if it is not, the cancer is getting worse by the day and it just worries the hell out of you constantly so any delay is psychologically debilitating.
“The fight back for any cancer patient starts with treatment so everything begins there.”
He continued: “These lengthy waiting times continue to be deeply alarming and should be a source of shame for SNP ministers. Everyone knows someone with cancer and any delays to starting treatment only risks a patient’s chances of survival.
“The national cancer waiting time target has now not been met for over a decade, so the pandemic cannot be used as an excuse.
“Suffering cancer patients and dedicated staff in the Highlands and Islands, and Scotland-wide, need to see the SNP health secretary urgently outline a plan to dramatically improve cancer waiting times.
“Having suffered from bowel cancer I am determined to hold the government to account.”
An NHS Highland spokesman said: “We are doing everything we can to improve waiting times for our patients. We very much recognise that every day that a patient has to wait can cause stress and anxiety that we should be trying to minimise.
“We continuously look at our cancer services and reprioritise all activity to ensure those with cancer and other life limiting conditions access timely services. This is significant challenge given an increased number of referrals locally and nationally, and in some cases with a reduced number of staff available to help assess and diagnose them.
“The Cancer Management Framework gives all Boards a guide on the key actions to improve waiting times. NHS Highland also meets with senior colleagues from Scottish Government on a frequent basis to review performance of our current patients, to look at patients at risk of breaching and improve the service for the future.”
