Recently released figures showed they were having to wait longer than the agreed 62 days for treatment – a statistic that has been slammed by the area’s Labour MSP.

Jackie Baillie called the news “ disappointing,” saying patients were being let down by the SNP Government.

She told the Reporter: “It is disappointing that once again these vital targets are not being met.

“Finding out you have cancer is hard enough, so it is unacceptable that nine out of ten people are having to wait over two months for treatment to start.” Targets were set by the Scottish Government to guarantee cancer patients would wait no more than 62 days between referral and treatment. But the new figures suggest this has increased. Just 91 per cent of patients in NHS Glasgow Greater Glasgow and Clyde (GGC) received cancer treatment within the first two months of referral in the quarter ending March 31.

That falls short of the government’s 95 per cent target.

A spokeswoman for the region’s NHS acknowledged a “dip” in performance levels, but said the vast majority of patients were being seen and treated within the waiting time guarantees.

She added: “A detailed action plan to ensure performance against the target is improved and maintained is already being implemented.” However, the SNP says it is making the effort to improve these waiting times, with continued investment to help improve how the health service performs in this field.

West of Scotland SNP MSP, Stuart McMillan told the Reporter the Scottish Government had recently announced an additional £2.5 million to help health boards across Scotland, such as GGC, meet cancer waiting times.

And he believes this demonstrates their “commitment” to making improvements.

He told us: “As the health secretary indicated, the average length of time a patient waits to start their cancer treatment in Scotland is just six days.

“These actions taken by the SNP Government, alongside the 39.8 per cent  increase in the number of cancer clinical nurse specialists, since September 2009, highlight what is being done to address waiting times for cancer patients.” But Ms Baillie said the SNP’s failure to take decisive action was letting down patients in Dumbarton and the Vale of Leven.

What are your thoughts on this? Have you suffered from cancer? How was your treatment?

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