NHS cancer crisis as patients can face waiting over two months for treatment

Patients who doctors fear have cancer face the longest waits for treatment on record.

NHS England data shows nearly a quarter of those urgently referred by their GP are now waiting more than two months for treatment.

In February just 76.1% of patients started treatment within the target time – the worst performance since records began in October 2009. The target of 85% has not been hit since late 2015.

And only 82.5% referred with possible breast cancer symptoms saw a consultant within two weeks, well below the 93% target.

NHS performance is at the worst level since records began in 2009 (Getty)

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Baroness Delyth Morgan, chief executive at Breast Cancer Now, said: “This is completely unacceptable. We need NHS England to investigate why breast cancer waiting times continue to decline.”

Theresa May has ordered a review of waiting time targets. If changed it will make it impossible to compare NHS performance against historic data.

An NHS England spokesman said: “250,000 more people got urgent cancer checks this year.”