Belfast trust worst in UK for cancer target times

The Belfast trust has what is believed to be the worst ever NHS performance for seeing patients with suspected breast cancer.

Fewer than one in 10 cases are seen within a fortnight and in the first two weeks of January just nine per cent of cases requiring urgent consultant assessments were seen on time. The government target is 100 per cent.

These urgent cases include women who detect a lump and are referred by their GP to hospital for mammograms or fine needle biopsies within 14 days. However it is understood referrals are now back on track.

In a statement, the trust claimed the big increase in referrals following October’s breast cancer awareness month and a Public Health Agency campaign were partly responsible for the backlog.

“We routinely receive between 60 and 70 referrals a week,” a spokesperson said. “However, since October, this figure has been between 80 and 100 every week. This high level of referrals, coupled with a recurrent capacity shortfall led to a drop in performance that continued into the first two weeks of January 2016.

“Performance against the 14-day target has improved in the second half of January 2016, with 57 per cent of urgent and red flag referred patients being seen within 14 days with no-one waiting longer than 21 days. The trust will continue to run weekly additional evening clinics to manage the red flag waiting time.”