Around half of NHS trusts in England fell short of the the two-week-wait cancer referral target in every single month of 2022, according to new figures.
Out of 132 trusts, 63 (48%) missed the NHS England target for 93% of patients to be seen by a cancer specialist within two weeks of an urgent GP referral.
The new research, commissioned by the Liberal Democrats, showed that less than half of patients were seen within the target time frame at four of the worst performing trusts in December 2022.
Only five trusts met the two-week-wait target in every single month of last year, according to the data provided by the House of Commons Library.
The worst performing trust in December 2022 was University Hospitals Bristol and Weston where only 42% of patients saw a consultant within two weeks.
Lib Dem health spokesperson Daisy Cooper said: ‘It is a national scandal that crucial targets are being routinely missed, leaving many people waiting anxiously for a cancer diagnosis.
‘It shows there are shocking gaps in cancer care depending on where you live in the country.’
Over 2.5 million patients were referred by GPs for cancer investigation between March 2021 and February 2022, according to NHS England data. Due to these high referral rates, in August hospitals were ordered to reduce waiting times for cancer investigations.
Ms Cooper called on the Government to ‘get a grip on this crisis so cancer patients get the urgent care they need to give them the best chance of survival’ and said this must start with a ‘proper plan’ for NHS staffing.
In December 2022, the other worst performing trusts included Whittington Health, Liverpool University Hospitals and North West Anglia.
Responding to the data, the Department of Health and Social Care referred to the opening of new community diagnostic centres across the country, which can speed up necessary cancer checks.
