Long waiting lists putting urgent patients at risk as target to bring backlog to pre-pandemic levels missed
A record number of people are waiting longer than ever for cancer treatment, as the total waiting more than three months surpassed 12,000 for the first time.
More than 4% of the 287,000 people on cancer waiting lists had waited more than 104 days to receive treatment after diagnosis, despite 2,000 of these being considered urgent patients, according to NHS England figures for the week ending on 1 January seen by Health Service Journal.
