Cancer patients in Horsham and Crawley 'face longest waiting times in England for care'

That’s according to data sourced by the Labour Party through Freedom of Information requests at the trust, which runs East Surrey Hospital and provides services at Horsham Hospital.

The Labour Party says that the data shows how patients are having to wait up to 94 days to see a cancer specialist after their GP has urgently referred them to hospital.

And patients face waits of up to 262 days for their tests or scans and up to 599 days – the longest waiting time in England – for a diagnosis or to have cancer ruled out.

Some patients have to wait 134 days to start cancer treatment.

The government is now set to cut two thirds of existing cancer waiting times standards for patients this week. The latest figures revealed that the NHS met none of its cancer targets in June 2023.

The NHS standard is for 85 per cent of patients to start treatment within two months of an urgent referral, a target that has not been consistently met since early 2014.

Labour shadow health secretary Wes Streeting said: “The Conservatives have created a crisis in cancer care, leaving patients waiting dangerously long times for a diagnosis or treatment when their cancer could be spreading.

“Instead of addressing the problem, Rishi Sunak has now cynically moved the goalposts. The Prime Minister should focus on cutting waiting times, not cutting standards for patients.”

Peter Lamb, Labour’s parliamentary candidate for Crawley, said: “People in Crawley have been badly let down by the Conservative mismanagement of the NHS. With some of the worst waiting times for cancer patients in our area, it’s no wonder local people are telling me it’s time for change.

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“The last Labour government saw waiting times at the lowest levels since records began. The next Labour government will fix the Tory NHS crisis by training more doctors and nurses and making sure cancer patients get seen, diagnosed and treated on time.”