Worried cancer patients from Kirklees have been left waiting for months after being told they may have the killer disease.
Analysis of the latest NHS figures has shown almost one in five cancer patients looking to Mid Yorkshire Hospitals for help had to wait longer than advised for their first treatment.
The health service asks hospitals to treat at least 85% of its new cancer patients within 62 days of a referral by their GP.
Mid Yorkshire – which runs Dewsbury hospital and treats a large proportion of people in North Kirklees at its Pinderfields site in Wakefield – only managed about 80% during February this year.
Of the 58 people receiving their first treatment that month, 12 had been waiting more than two months. Of those five had to wait over three months.
The previous month it just met the target, treating 72 of its 84 referrals within the 62 days since they were referred.
Calderdale and Huddersfield hospitals comfortably met the target in January but also struggled in February, narrowly missing the 85% target.
Trudie Davies, Chief Operating Officer at The Mid Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust said: “We have consistently delivered the cancer standards for our patients throughout quarters 1, 2 and 3 for 2017.
“Unfortunately, as the most recent figures show, the trust has found it challenging to hit the specified cancer target for February.
“This has been as a result of more patients being referred to us for cancer treatment and also, the complexity and acuity of some cases.
“However, we are anticipating an improvement in our figures for March and going forwards into quarter 1 of 2018/19.
“We understand that waiting for any treatment for cancer is difficult and upsetting for everyone involved, and we would like to reassure our patients we are doing everything we can to ensure we return to our usual level of high performance, as demonstrated in previous quarters.”
The figures have been highlighted by Labour’s Shadow Health Minister and Dewsbury MP, Paula Sherriff.
She said: “This winter hundreds of cancer operations were cancelled despite promises the NHS was better prepared than ever before.
“Thousands of patients are still waiting beyond the target of 62 days for treatment after an urgent GP referral.
“Let’s be clear; years of underfunding and abject failure to invest in the frontline doctors and nurses we need, means the government is letting down cancer patients.
“To offer cancer patients the best quality of care we need a fully funded, properly staffed NHS.”
