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Labour reveal FOI data on local cancer treatment waiting times
16/08/2023
The longest wait for treatment by patients at the Oxford University Hospital’s Trust was 372 days
Some cancer patients at our local hospitals are waiting over a year to receive treatment.
Data sourced by the Labour Party through Freedom of Information requests – and shared with Banbury FM by Banbury Labour – shows the longest wait for treatment by patients at the Oxford University Hospital’s Trust was 372 days.
The figures were revealed just a day after NHS bosses announced they wanted to cut the number of cancer targets they have from nine to three. They said the plan is backed by leading cancer experts and will simplify what they describe as “outdated” standards.
Locally the longest wait for those referred to see a cancer specialist by their GP was 126 days. By comparison the longest wait at the Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust was 118 days, and just 34 days at the Northampton General Hospital NHS Trust.
Across the country 52 out of the 60 NHS trusts that responded to the Freedom Of Information request saw a patient wait more than half a year to start their treatment in 2022.
The NHS standard is for 85 per cent of patients to start treatment within two months of an urgent referral, a target that has not been consistently met since early 2014.
The Labour Party firmly blame the Conservative government for the situation.
Councillor Sean Woodcock, Labour’s group leader of Cherwell District Council said: “The longer the Conservatives are in power, the longer people in Cherwell are forced to wait. These aren’t just statistics, these are people’s lives – people living in fear, and cancers been caught too late because patients aren’t being seen quickly enough.”
Labour says it plans to deliver better cancer care, including training thousands more doctors and nurses every year, providing NHS staff with up-to-date modern technology, and reforming the health service so it catches cancer earlier.
Banbury FM contacted the Oxford University Hospitals Trust and Banbury MP Victoria Prentis offering them the opportunity to comment on this story.
Published: by Banbury FM Newsteam