New figures for the quarter ending December 2023 have shown that no health boards in the south of Scotland has met the Scottish Government’s 62-day standard which states that 95% of eligible patients should wait a maximum of 62 days from urgent suspicion of cancer referral to first cancer treatment.

The figure for NHS Borders was 86.5%, however all the other health boards fell below this. In NHS Dumfries and Galloway the figure was 79.2 per cent; 78.9 per cent in NHS Ayrshire and Arran; 79 per cent in NHS Lothian and 81.2 per cent in NHS Lanarkshire.

The statistics show that the maximum wait in the south region was 341 days recorded in NHS Lothian. In NHS Dumfries and Galloway a wait of 267 days was also recorded.

Referrals for urological cancers were particularly bad, with all south of Scotland health boards falling well below the 62-day standard. In NHS Dumfries and Galloway for example only 50 per cent of patients were treated within the 62-day standard. In NHS Borders it was 52 per cent.

South Scotland MSP Colin Smyth said, “We are in the grip of a cancer care crisis with key targets being missed again and again.

“Far too many people are waiting far too long to get the cancer care that they desperately need while SNP government targets are broken across the area.

“We know the pandemic led to an increase of undiagnosed cancer cases but the government’s promises on recovery in cancer services are meaningless as far too many patients are not seen within the government’s own legally binding performance standard.

“Cancer is Scotland’s biggest killer, and we know that early detection and treatment leads to better outcomes – but the fact is that the SNP government’s failure to support NHS staff is creating a cancer care timebomb.

“There needs to be an urgent review of the government’s cancer plan, which is clearly not working for patients in our area.”