Waiting times for NHS cancer treatment are at worst ever level

Record numbers of patients are not getting vital cancer care on time because NHS England performance against waiting time targets has fallen to its lowest ever level, according to official figures.

Hospitals are increasingly having to force patients to wait for care because they cannot keep up with the growing numbers being referred by GPs who fear they have the disease.

Over 18,000 suspected cancer patients a month in England are now not getting to see a specialist or starting their treatment within prescribed timescales, NHS England’s latest performance data has revealed.

Full story in The Guardian, 10 January 2019