Patients having to wait over six weeks for test results
Health charities are demanding urgent action as delays in diagnostic tests rise steeply, with new figures from April showing that 17,000 patients are having to wait six weeks or more for scans and investigations.
Even cancer patients are having to wait weeks for vital test results, with the number of patients waiting longer doubling in the past year to more than 2%. NHS England however claim that tests are delivered promptly despite the steady increase in demand.
Labour’s shadow health secretary, Andy Burnham, told BBC News “Every day, yet more evidence emerges showing an NHS heading seriously downhill. Patients are waiting longer for crucial tests – causing stress and real anguish for worried families.”
Waiting for results
Macmillan Cancer Support are particularly worried about cancer being overlooked as the NHS is “under strain”. Ciaran Devane, Macmillan’s chief executive, said “It is extremely worrying that the proportion of people who face delays in receiving vital tests which can diagnose cancer has doubled since this time last year, from 1.1% to 2.2%. Only two weeks ago we heard that more people are waiting longer to start treatment and now more people are waiting longer just to get diagnosed.”
NHS England however say an 50,000 additional tests were carried out in April compared with the same time last year, and that most patients have to wait less than three weeks.
