Claire Rowney, chief executive at Breast Cancer Now, said:
“It’s unacceptable that over the last four years, too many people with breast cancer and their loved ones in Scotland have endured long, anxious waits for care they should be able to count on.[1]
“We estimate that had the 62-day target from urgent referral to starting treatment [2] for breast cancer been met during this time (Dec 2020 – Dec 2024), over 1,000 more people would have had a timely diagnosis and access to potentially life-saving treatments.[3]
“It’s also alarming that such a dramatic ‘postcode lottery’ in waiting times has persisted across Scotland, with these latest figures showing a 35.6 percentage point disparity in performance between the highest and lowest performing health boards.[4] These unacceptably long waits must urgently be addressed.
“We recognise the tireless work of NHS staff and the challenging combination of high volumes of referrals, and limited staff capacity - specifically around pathology and radiology.
“The Scottish Government must urgently fulfil its commitment to review waiting times and introduce new standards for different cancer types that drive improvements. These standards should come with clinical guidance that represents best practice, and a commitment to regularly publishing comprehensive waiting times performance data. The Scottish Government must continue to provide the resources that are needed to both address the underlying causes of, and dramatically cut, waiting times.”
ENDS
Notes to editors
1. Urgently referred with a suspicion of cancer by a primary care clinician/general dental physician, patients referred by one of the national cancer screening programmes, and direct referrals to hospital where the signs and symptoms are consistent with the cancer diagnosed.
2. NHS Scotland has not met the 95% target for people with breast cancer to start treatment within 62 days from urgent referral since before December 2020.
3. Breast Cancer Now analysis of NHS Scotland cancer waiting times data: https://publichealthscotland.scot/publications/cancer-waiting-times/cancer-waiting-times-1-october-to-31-december-2024/ Between December 2020 – December 2024, 1,017 more people would have received timely treatment had the 95% target for the 62-day standard been met.
4. https://publichealthscotland.scot/publications/cancer-waiting-times/cancer-waiting-times-1-october-to-31-december-2024/ The 95% target for the 62-day standard for the period 1 October to 31 December 2024 saw the highest performing health boards for breast cancer being 100% compared to the lowest performing being 64.4%.