Question reference: S5O-00226
- Asked by: Annie Wells, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
- Date lodged: 28 September 2016
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Current status: Answered by Shona Robison on 5 October 2016
Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on waiting times for people to begin treatment for cancer following an urgent referral.
Answer
The Scottish Government has two set standards for cancer treatment.
A 62-day standard from' urgent referral with suspicion of cancer', until first treatment. This includes referrals from the national cancer screening programmes and
A 31-day standard from decision to treat until first treatment for all new cancers regardless of route of referral
These standards have been set to encourage NHS boards, where clinically appropriate, to adopt efficient cancer pathways and reduce avoidable delays between appointments, a 95% target is applied to both standards.