Cancer waiting times worsen again

Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton MSP has today called on the Health Secretary to bring a new a plan to the table which will tackle cancer waiting times, as figures published today show poor cancer waiting times performance against the 62-day referral to treatment standard.

New Public Health Scotland figures reveal that only 72.1% of patients were seen within the 62-day standard, down from 73.2% in the previous quarter.

Mr Cole-Hamilton said:

"Every Scot diagnosed with cancer should be able to access treatment quickly and effectively. It is emblematic of how SNP mismanagement has run our NHS into the ground that so many people are being forced to endure long waits to get the help they need.

“Timely treatment for cancer is a matter of life and death - the stakes here could simply not be higher.  

“The Health Secretary needs to bring a new plan to the table and pull out all the stops to bring down waiting times. Staff and patients are tired of being continually failed by a government that is devoid of the energy and creativity we need to turn this around.”