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Lothian NHS Close to Breast Cancer Waiting Times Target

Posted on: Monday, 19 December 2005, 15:00 CST

By Ian Swanson

LOTHIAN hospitals are close to meeting national targets for cutting breast cancer waiting times, while women in some parts of Scotland are waiting up to nine months for treatment.

The Scottish Executive has said no woman with breast cancer should have to wait more than two months from urgent referral by their GP to their first treatment at hospital.

Latest figures show an average wait for breast cancer patients of 48 days at Edinburgh's Western General Hospital, which also had the biggest number of breast cancer patients in the country, while at St John's Hospital, Livingston, the average wait was 39 days.

There were patients at both hospitals who had waited longer. But the maximum waiting times - 88 days at the Western General and 94 days at St John's - were modest compared with the 276 day wait recorded at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary.

Three other hospitals in Scotland had patients waiting for four months or more before they began cancer treatment - Dr Gray's Hospital in Elgin (197 days), Monklands Hospital, Airdrie (140 days) and Victoria Infirmary, Glasgow (128 days).

Around 3500 women in Scotland every year are diagnosed with breast cancer.

But the latest figures, the first hospital-by-hospital breakdown of waiting times, covering the first six months of this year, suggests a "postcode lottery" persists.

Lorraine Dallas, head of the charity Breast Cancer Care Scotland, said the huge variations in waiting times with urgent referrals were unacceptable.

She said: "Patients should get the care they need regardless of where they live. Every day we support people just diagnosed or waiting for referrals and so we know what a difficult and anxious time this is for them and their families.

"To successfully identify and fight breast cancer it is essential that patients get the medical attention and treatment they need as quickly as possible. Any delay only adds to a patient's stress and confusion and can reduce the chance for effective treatment."

NHS Grampian, which is responsible for Aberdeen Royal Infirmary, predicts it will hit the target for three-quarters of breast cancer sufferers this month.

But SNP deputy leader Nicola Sturgeon said: "It is just not acceptable that there continues to be a postcode lottery for breast cancer treatment. Three years after the target being set there is still a high proportion of women waiting over two months.

Health minister Andy Kerr said the figures covered the period until the end of June, at which point plans for meeting the waiting times target had been agreed between health boards and the Executive.

He said: "We recognise that there are variations in each health board area. To some extent that is to be expected, as every patient has individual treatment needs.

"But, by setting and monitoring targets we can ensure that, as far as possible, waiting times are kept to an absolute minimum and that there is greater consistency for patients across the country."

* A vaccine to prevent cervical cancer appears to work best when given to girls aged ten to 14, researchers said today.

The vaccine Cervarix, which targets the human papilloma virus (HPV) which causes cervical cancer, is being developed by GlaxoSmithKline (GSK).

GSK said that the vaccine was still as effective in the older age group but the immune response was two times higher in the younger girls, meaning that the effects of the jab could last longer when given at an earlier age.

Source: Evening News; Edinburgh (UK)

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