John Swinney defends government record on cancer waits

First Minister John Swinney had defended his government over cancer waiting times after the latest figures showed they were the worst on record.

He said the NHS was treating a higher number of patients with cancer on time than six years ago, before the coronavirus pandemic, but accepted the failure to meet the 62-day target was “not acceptable”.

Public Health Scotland published the latest figures earlier this week indicating one in three patients referred to the NHS with an urgent suspicion of cancer were waiting more than 62 days.

Just 68.9 per cent of patients started treatment within that timeframe.

The 31-day target between diagnosis and treatment was also missed, though only narrowly. Against a target of 95 per cent, 94.1 per cent of patients started treatment with the month.

When asked about these figures, public health minister Jenni Minto told STV: “Are people losing their lives as a result of later diagnosis? Yes, they may well be.”

The delay in cancer care was raised by Russell Findlay, Anas Sarwar and Alex Cole-Hamilton during the last FMQs before summer recess.

The Scottish Tory leader said that “each passing day puts more lives at risk, but this government is complacent”.

Findlay urged the government to use its £500m underspend to set up an emergency cancer fund.

He also criticised health secretary Neil Gray for not being present in the chamber, questioning the government’s focus.

Gray is currently on a visit to Japan, as part of the delegation to the health expo event promoting new tech.

Swinney said Gray was in Japan “at my request, with my approval”.

He insisted the “absolute focus” of his government was on “reducing waiting times for cancer and other conditions”.

He added the median wait for urgent cancer care was three days – down from four days a year ago.

Labour’s Sarwar dubbed Swinney the “captain of the Titanic” and said, “SNP failure is costing lives”. He added thousands of patients were having to turn to private healthcare for treatment.

And Lib Dem Cole-Hamilton said the slight improvement to the median wait would offer “cold comfort” to those on waiting lists. He called for a lung cancer screening programme to be established across Scotland to improve early detection.

The first minister pointed to a “record” settlement for the NHS in this year's budget and the delivery of an extra 105,000 procedures under his leadership.

Adding work was underway to improve against the 62-day target, he said: “What the health secretary and I are focused on doing is making sure that in every single part of the country people can rely on the National Health Service being there when they require it. That’s the commitment I give to parliament and that’s what we’re focused on delivering.”