Cancer patients in Somerset 'not being seen quickly enough'

The NHS states that 85% of cancer patients with an urgent referral should start treatment within 62 days.

But NHS England data shows just 68% of cancer patients urgently referred to the Somerset NHS Foundation Trust in June began treatment within two months of their referral.

That was up from  64% in May, but down from 69% in June 2023.

Louise Ansari, chief executive at Healthwatch England, said: "We are concerned that the progress made in speeding up both cancer diagnosis and the commencement of cancer treatment in recent months is slowing.

"Despite some progress on the referral to treatment target, the NHS is still falling well short of its operational target that 85% of patients wait less than two months between an urgent referral and treatment commencing.

"Urgent action is required to ensure that timely cancer diagnosis and treatment becomes the norm for all patients in England."

Tens of thousands of patients were waiting for routine treatment at the Somerset Trust in June, the NHS England figures show.

The NHS is facing a difficult summer as overall waiting lists climb for a third month in a row.

NHS England figures show 56,574 patients were waiting for non-urgent elective operations or treatment at Somerset NHS Foundation Trust at the end of June – up from 54,987 in May, and 54,283 in June 2023.

Of those, 1,872 (3%) had been waiting for longer than a year. 

The median waiting time from referral at an NHS Trust to treatment at the Somerset Trust was 12 weeks at the end of June – up from 11 weeks in May.

Nationally, 7.62 million people were waiting to start treatment at the end of June. This was up slightly from 7.6 million at the end of March and a third consecutive rise.

Health Secretary Wes Streeting said: "These figures confirm that 14 years of Conservative neglect left the NHS broken, waiting lists rising, and patients failed. Never again should the Conservatives be trusted with our health service.

"It will take time to turn the NHS around. But we are working night and day to get the NHS back on its feet, so it can once again be there for us all when we need it."

Separate figures show 1.6 million patients in England were waiting for a key diagnostic test in June – a fall from 1.7 million in May.

At the Somerset Trust, 11,815 patients were waiting for one of 14 standard tests, such as an MRI scan, non-obstetric ultrasound or gastroscopy at this time. 

Of them, 2,566 (22%) had been waiting for at least six weeks.

Professor Sir Stephen Powis, NHS national medical director, said the NHS could be in the middle of its "busiest summer ever".

He said: "While we have seen improvements in the number of patients seen and treated within four hours in A&E, slightly faster ambulance response times, and more than three-quarters of cancer patients receiving an all clear or diagnosis in four weeks, it is clear that waits for patients across a range of services remain unacceptable and there is much more to do to deliver more timely care for those who need it.

"Nobody in the NHS wants to see patients experiencing long delays and we are committed to working with the Government to create a 10-year plan for health that includes a clear plan to bring waits down.”