A North East MSP has warned patients are facing a “ticking timebomb” after NHS Grampian recorded the worst cancer waits across mainland Scotland.
New figures from Public Health Scotland revealed almost 40% of patients in the North East are waiting longer than two months to receive their first treatment after being referred.
Tess White MSP says the “appalling” waiting times at NHS Grampian are putting lives at risk.
She reiterated that starting treatment as early as possible is crucial to a patient’s chance of survival, accusing the SNP government of failing to invest in frontline care in NHS Grampian, resulting in staff not seeing patients quickly enough.
The North East MSP added that successive SNP health secretaries have failed to meet their national target for well over a decade now, and still have no plan to fix the cancer care crisis across Scotland.
Scottish Conservative North East MSP Tess White said: “We are continuing to face a ticking timebomb when it comes to dealing with cancer cases in the North East.
“These appalling waiting times are putting lives at risk. Everyone knows someone who has cancer or who has had it in the past, and they know how crucial starting treatment as early as possible is for the chances of survival.
“Despite the best efforts of dedicated staff at NHS Grampian, they simply do not have the resources to ensure all patients are seen on time.
“They are dealing with the consequences of successive SNP health secretaries failing to invest in frontline care while not having a plan to fix the cancer care crisis across the North East.
“The SNP have failed to meet their national cancer waiting time target for over a decade now. It is time for them to fix this crisis and ensure patients at NHS Grampian are not waiting months on end to begin treatment.”
