New research has found that more than one in three patients have been waiting for over two months to start cancer treatment following an urgent GP referral, while one in six waited more than 90 days.
The research was commissioned by Zurich and analysed by Allan Hackshaw, professor of epidemiology and medical statistics at the UCL Cancer Institute, and director, UCL Cancer Trials Centre. The NHS aims to treat 85% of patients within 62 days of an urgent GP referral for suspected cancer, but Zurich's analysis found that 64% of patients were seen within this timeframe between January and August 2024. Zurich said the increased wait times are largely due to shortages of both equipment and healthcare staff, alongside increasing pressure on NHS resources. Hackshaw added that the equipm...
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