A leading cancer charity has criticised NHS Tayside for missing a cancer referral and treatment target, calling the organisation one of the “worst performing” in Scotland.
Macmillan Cancer Support said it was “disappointed” with the findings of a report released yesterday that revealed NHS Tayside had missed a target for cancer patients being referred for treatment within 62 days of first suspicion during the last quarter of 2015.
The director of Macmillan Cancer Support in Scotland, Elspeth Atkinson, said: “We are disappointed to see the cancer waiting times in NHS Tayside have been missed again.
“NHS Tayside is among the worst performing health boards and we need the new Cancer Plan, published earlier this month, to address this issue urgently.”
The health board must aim for 95% of patients who have been sent to a cancer specialist and have been diagnosed as having the disease to begin their treatment within 62 days from first referral.
NHS Tayside was found to have missed that target, with only 89% of patients being seen.
Gavin Main, associate medical director with NHS Tayside, said the health board would never be “complacent” about cancer treatment and that staff were working hard to make sure every patient is tracked through their treatment.
He said: “We are pleased that NHS Tayside has met the national 31-day cancer waiting time target for the last three months of 2015.
“With regard to the 62-day target, NHS Tayside, like many other board areas in Scotland, did not manage to meet this target, achieving 89% compliance against the Scottish average of 90.8%.
“Delivering waiting time targets is challenging month-on-month as some patients require a series of major investigations to ensure correct treatment.
“This can, understandably, take some time.
“Our cancer teams work extremely hard ensuring every patient is tracked through each stage of their journey.
“By doing this we can intervene or escalate cases immediately if there appears to be any delay in treatment.
“We recognise that any cancer diagnosis is worrying for patients and their families and that is why we will never be complacent and will continue to strive for improved service.”
Across Scotland, between October 2015 and January 2016 96.4% of patients started treatment within 31 days of diagnosis.
NHS Tayside sat below this figure, with 95.2% of patients diagnosed with cancer receiving treatment within that period.
This is, however, within the 95% target all NHS health boards across Scotland are aiming to achieve.