CANCER patients in Cumbria are facing longer waits for initial treatment than other parts of the UK, new figures reveal.
Statistics published by NHS England show that Cumbrian hospitals are falling behind the national average when it comes to giving new patients their first round of treatment.
The NHS aims to treat 85 per cent of patients referred by their GP with suspected cancer within 62 days, but just 79 per cent of south Cumbrian patients receive this care.
Copeland MP Jamie Reed has been appalled by the figures and is calling on health secretary Jeremy Hunt to take immediate action to ensure patients receive the treatment they deserve.
He said: “The health secretary must step up, take responsibility for his stewardship of the NHS and provide it with the resources that it needs to ensure that the 62-day referral to start of cancer treatment target is met.
“A cancer diagnosis is incredibly worrying and stressful for patients and their families, and they should never have to wait for extended periods of time to start treatment. Patients need and deserve swift support, care and treatment.
“Here in west Cumbria and across the UK, NHS staff work tirelessly to care for and treat people battling cancer. It’s time that the government provided them with the resources and support that they need to ensure timely access to cancer treatment”.
The figures show that 82 per cent of patients nationally began their treatment in the last quarter of 2015/2016.
This fell to 80 per cent at the North Cumbria University Hospitals NHS Trust and to just 79 per cent at University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust.
Figures also reveal that 45 people in Cumbria had to wait more than 62 days between diagnoses and the start of their treatment, and 14 of those had to wait more than 104 days.
However, Millom cancer patient Karen Jackson-Smith said she could not fault the care she has received.
She said: "My experience has been fantastic. I was referred well within a two-week period and received treatment really, really quickly.
"If you have a concern it should be addressed and taken seriously and acted upon.
"It is a very stressful time but my experience has been absolutely fantastic."
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