NHS patients waiting too long for vital medical tests

Official figures reveal that a record high number has been hit of NHS patients waiting longer than six weeks for crucial medical tests.

The number of patients having to wait longer than six weeks for tests, including for cancer, was five times higher in January than in May 2010.

15 of the most important NHS tests are covered, including tests for heart disease and seven that detect cancers, with just under 14,000 patients having to wait longer than six weeks for one of the key cancer tests.

Nearly 3,000 patients waited longer than six weeks for MRI scans, which compared to just 374 in May 2010, and 1,125 patients waited too long for CT scans, which was up from 215 in May 2010.

There has also been a significant rise in patients waiting longer than they should for vital endoscopy tests that detect stomach and bowel cancers.

Andy Burnham, Labour’s Shadow Health Secretary, said the numbers were ‘damning evidence’ of the failure by the Government on NHS waiting lists.

Mr Burnham said “All the gains that Labour made have been lost and the NHS is heading in the wrong direction. Thousands of families are waiting too long for tests, facing all the anxiety that means, and cancer is being diagnosed at a later stage where treatment is less likely to be successful.

“That’s why Labour will guarantee a maximum one-week wait for cancer tests.

“The NHS as we know it can’t survive five more years of the Tories. Families struggling with cancer can’t take the risk and, despite all the warnings, persisted with an NHS reorganisation that disrupted cancer services.”

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Posted by Karen Motley, Paralegal, Clinical Negligence Department, Chadwick Lawrence LLP (karenmotley@chadlaw.co.uk ), Medical negligence lawyers and clinical negligence solicitors in Huddersfield, Leeds, Wakefield and Halifax, West Yorkshire.

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