THE INJUSTICE OF CANCER POSTCODE LOTTERY MUST END

MINISTERS have been urged to end the life-threatening "postcode lottery" of cancer care.

- Giles Sheldrick

Fewer than 1 in 4 patients were treated within the target time of 62 days after an urgent referral from their GP in the worst-performing NHS trust, research has revealed.

Meanwhile the best-performing trust achieved a 98.7% treatment rate.

Overall, only two in three patients (65.2%) from a sample of 31 trusts began treatment inside the target time. The aim is for 85% of patients to wait no longer than that between urgent referral and treatment and, as the Daily Express has revealed, that has not been hit since 2015.

The failure means some 100,000 patients last year started treatment after waiting longer than the target.

House of Commons Library analysis, commissioned by the Liberal Democrats, revealed that in some cases "shockingly" low numbers beat the two-month target.

Daisy Cooper, Lib Dem health and social care spokeswoman, said: "It is heart-wrenching to see such a stark postcode lottery of cancer care across the country. We know how important it is to find and treat cancer early to give people the best chance of survival. Sadly this is happening far too little.

"Behind every single one of these numbers is a story of fear, discomfort and anxiety for thousands of families up and down the country. Every patient should be entitled to a legal right to start their treatment within two months to give them the best chance. We need urgent investment in cancer facilities in the NHS, including radiotherapy machines and more cancer nurses."

The St Albans MP added: "It has to be a driving force behind our attitude to healthcare to get cancer patients the treatment they deserve."