NEW research has revealed that last year 448 people were stuck worrying for at least two months before receiving treatment at North Cumbria Integrated Care NHS Foundation Trust hospitals.

The data from the House of Commons Library, commissioned by the Liberal Democrats, shows that in 2022, in North Cumbria, 49 per cent had to wait at least two months for treatment to start.

Highlighting that north Cumbria has not hit the target of 85 per cent of patients receiving a first treatment for cancer within 62 days of an urgent GP referral since it was created three years ago. 

Brian Wernham, the Lib Dem parliamentary campaigner for Carlisle called these new figures “horrifying”.

“Nationally, more than 66,000 patients were forced to wait at least two months for their first treatment last year after a referral. 

"I am calling for the local Conservative MP to take action and get the Government to hire more staff, especially specialist cancer nurses.

"We need a comprehensive strategy to ensure all those who have been left behind are offered timely cancer diagnosis and treatment and that targets be met as soon as possible.

"The Government must get a handle on this crisis so cancer patients get the urgent care they need to give them the best chance of survival and recovery," he said. 

A spokesperson from the North Cumbria Care Integrated Trust said that cancer waiting times are 'decreasing', however. 

"We know that waiting for treatment is a worrying time for patients and we have been working hard on our Cancer improvement plan.

"We are pleased to note that our cancer waiting times for two week waits and the 62-day pathway are decreasing.

"The latest statistics released on the 9th March show a month-on-month improvement for our 62-week waits with just over 70 per cent of people being seen within the timeframe in January this year.

"There is still a lot of work ongoing but it is a tribute to our hardworking teams that we are seeing positive progress," they said.  

The waits for 62 day pathway was at 52.46 per cent in November, 66.99 per cent in December and 70.83 per cent in January, ultimately showing signs of improvement.