Sharp rise in cancer patients in England waiting months for treatment

The proportion of cancer patients in England experiencing long waits for treatment has almost trebled, figures show.

Analysis by Cancer Research UK exclusively for the Guardian shows there has been a nearly fourfold increase in the number of patients in England waiting more than 104 days for urgent cancer treatment, from just over 6,000 patients in 2016 to 22,000 last year.

In 2024, more than 11% of cancer patients waited longer than 104 days to start treatment, which was nearly triple the rate of 4.4% in 2016.

The latest figures from NHS England show a slight improvement in the number of patients treated on time. In December, 66.4% of patients were treated within 62 days of urgent referral, up marginally from 64.5% in November.

The target is to treat 85% of cancer patients within 62 days but this has not been met in any month since December 2015. Even if patients referred via screening or from their consultant are included, just under one-third of patients are still not treated on time.

According to Cancer Research UK, the last time the NHS consistently met the target to treat 85% of cancer patients within two months of urgent referral was in 2013.

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Source: The Guardian, 13 February 2025