Cancer Research UK has warned that very long waits for NHS cancer treatment have tripled since 2017. The charity disclosed that 12 per cent of patients did not start therapy for 104 days or more in 2022. As per NHS standards, at least 85% should start treatment within 62 days of their first doctor’s referral.

As per the latest figures, more than 20,000 people faced delays. People with bowel, prostate and kidney cancer had to wait for maximum number of time.

Chief executive Michelle Mitchell, while speaking to media, said, “NHS staff are doing their best, but these figures are concerning and too many patients are still waiting too long to begin cancer treatment.”

The research further delayed that half o these delays were due to a lack of NHS staff, equipment or clinic capacity. Patients who needed complex tests also faced issues. Only six per cent of the delays were due to patient choice.

Ms Mitchell said, "A long-term cancer strategy is needed to deliver on the government’s commitment to bring cancer waiting times down by providing our NHS with the equipment and staff it desperately needs to diagnose and treat patients on time.”

Earlier it was discovered that about 19,000 NHS patients were left waiting in the accident and emergency (A&E) department for three days over a period of 12-months. From April 2023 to March 2024, nearly 400,000 people were left waiting for over 24 hours across the A&E departments. This is a 5% rise from the previous year's figures. The investigation exposed "suffering and indignity faced by patients on a daily basis." It came after an undercover reporter secretly filmed himself working as a trainee healthcare assistant inside the emergency department of the Royal Shrewsbury hospital for two months.

Meanwhile, earlier, there were reports of NHS planning to recruit up to 2,000 doctors from India on a fast-track basis in a bid to address the country's shortage of medical practitioners. According to a report by Business Standard, the NHS will be conducting postgraduate training for the first batch of doctors who will be assigned to hospitals in Britain after 6 to 12 months of training. These doctors will be excused from the Professional and Linguistic Assessments Board examination upon completion of the programe.