Figures show 261 people had to wait two months or longer for cancer treatment last year at The Countess of Chester Hospital.
Research from the House of Commons Library, commissioned by the Liberal Democrats, has revealed that more than a quarter of patients had to wait for longer than two months to start their treatment.
It means The Countess of Chester has failed to achieve its target of 85% of patients receiving a first treatment for cancer within 62 days of an urgent GP referral.
The hospital also failed to meet its target every year since 2016 – with the exception of 2018.
Campaigners have described the new figures as ‘extremely distressing’ and note that nationally more than 66,000 patients were forced to wait longer than two months for their first treatment in 2022.
They’re now calling on the government to hire more staff – in particular specialist cancer nurses.
The Lib Dems are also calling for a comprehensive strategy to ensure all those who have been left behind are offered timely cancer diagnosis and treatment – and that targets are met as soon as possible.
They say the government must get a handle on the crisis so cancer patients get the urgent care they need to give them the best chance of survival and recovery.
Former Tory MP Antoinette Sandbach who is now a Lib Dem candidate in Eddisbury, drew on her own experience of having cancer to reflect on the issue.
She said: “The government has been driving our local health services into the ground and taking patients for granted for years. Chester and the surrounding villages deserve better.
“Having recently been successfully treated for cancer I am aware that delays to cancer diagnoses and treatments are incredibly distressing for those with cancer and those who fear they may have it.”
She added: “This Conservative government has its head in the sand over staff shortages and no real plan to fix it.
“They must get a handle on this crisis so cancer patients get the urgent care they need to give them the best chance of survival and recovery.”
The Countess of Chester Hospital NHS Foundation Trust has not responded to our request for a comment.
