There was a "worrying drop" in the percentage of Borders patients starting cancer treatment within the target time in the last quarter, new statistics from Public Health Scotland show.
The proportion of patients starting treatment within 62 days of receiving an urgent referral with suspicion of cancer dropped more than 8 percentage points between quarters three and four of 2023 in NHS Borders.
Scottish Borders MP John Lamont said the "worrying drop" must be addressed quickly by NHS Borders and the SNP must step in with more funding to prevent further delays to cancer treatment.
Last month, NHS Borders said they would need to make £28 million of cuts to services over the next year because of a growing financial deficit.
Scottish Borders MP, John Lamont, said: "This worrying drop must be addressed quickly by NHS Borders and the SNP Government.
"Our excellent local NHS staff do a tremendous job of helping people suffering from cancer but it's clear they don't have the resources to treat every patient as fast as they would like to.
"NHS Borders was very close to meeting the Scotland-wide target in the previous quarter, however, there has since been a substantial fall in the percentage of patients starting treatment on time.
"Humza Yousaf must step in with extra funding to prevent any further delays to cancer treatment for patients in need of urgent care. This troubling situation cannot be allowed to spiral any further."
Notes
Further information on the drop is below -
Proportion of patients starting treatment within 62 days of urgent referral with suspicion of cancer, Q4 2023
Target: 95%
NHS Borders: 86.5% (down from 94.9% in the previous quarter).
(NHS Scotland Cancer Waiting Times, 26 March 2024, link).