MSP warns of 'ticking timebomb' as over 20,000 people wait for cancer treatment in Lanarkshire

dailyrecord.co.uk:

Over 20,000 cancer patients are waiting for treatment in Lanarkshire.And an MSP has warned of a “ticking timebomb” when it comes to crucial cancer diagnostic tests.In NHS Lanarkshire, 20,695 patients are waiting to be seen as at the end of last year, a 85 per cent increase in the last two years.The Lanarkshire Live app is available to download now.

Get all the news from your area – as well as features, entertainment, sport and the latest on Lanarkshire’s recovery from the coronavirus pandemic – straight to your fingertips, 24/7.The free download features the latest breaking news and exclusive stories, and allows you to customise your page to the sections that matter most to you.Head to the App Store and never miss a beat in Lanarkshire - iOS - Android The number of patients waiting to be seen have also risen by 11 per cent since September last year.Lanarkshire MSP Meghan Gallacher, from the Scottish Conservatives, called the figures "extremely worrying".

She told Lanarkshire Live : “The backlog of tests that has grown during the pandemic in NHS Lanarkshire has now completely spiralled out of control. “Patients are not being treated anywhere near quickly enough in NHS Lanarkshire and cancers are at real risk of going undetected.“We cannot continue to see inaction from SNP Health Secretary Humza Yousaf."He must urgently outline how he plans to tackle this ever-increasing backlog in NHS Lanarkshire and ensure patients are seen within target waiting times.”Across Scotland over 140,000 people have been unable to get potentially life-saving tests on time, figures released earlier this week show.These include patients who are still to receive an MRI scan, CT scan, colonoscopy, endoscopy or ultrasound as of December 31 - a 12.5