Thousands of South West patients face agonising delays in finding out if they have cancer or other serious health problems after the number of people waiting too long for vital diagnostic tests tripled over the past year.
Figures show that nationally the number of patients waiting beyond the six week Government guideline is at a six-year high. But in the South West the situation is even worse than the rest of the country.
While everywhere else saw the number of patients on the waiting list doubling since last April, it tripled in the south west. According to the Labour party there are more than three times as many people who have been waiting too long for MRI, CT and ultrasound scans than in April last year.
Cancer charities and professionals have raised concerns about the figures and called for action from the Government. Anne Snelgrove, Labour's parliamentary candidate in South Swindon, said: "As a cancer survivor, thanks to early diagnosis, I can personally testify that having to wait a second longer than necessary for the results of life changing tests is beyond not good enough.
"Patients and their families go through incredible anguish when cancer is a possibility and every decision the Government makes should be about making this time easier.
"For waiting times to have trebled across the South West in the last year, coupled with GP appointment delays, I am really worried that all the progress made on cancer care in the last decade is now at risk. It cannot be denied that things are going backward since this unwanted reorganisation was imposed by this Government."
NHS guidance states no patient should wait longer than six weeks for the tests, but nationally 16,981 waited longer than that, up from 7,788 last April. There are currently over 100,000 patients waiting for 15 key diagnostic tests in West Country NHS hospitals. But the number being forced to wait beyond six weeks has increased from 880 in 2013 to 3,148 this year.
Most people are waiting for MRI, CT and non obstetric ultrasound scans. The number of people waiting too long for MRI scans in the West has soared from 149 to 698. Demand for diagnostic tests in the region has increased from 89,139 to 107,433. Most of those on the lists are waiting for cancer tests including the 3,427 patients awaiting over six weeks for endoscopies that detect bowel and stomach cancers.
Sara Osborne, head of policy at Cancer Research UK, said: "These latest figures are extremely worrying and urgent action must be taken to make sure patients don't have to wait too long to get their cancer diagnosed. The six-week waiting-time target is in place as we know a quick diagnosis of cancer and access to treatment is vital to improving survival from the disease."
Dr Giles Maskell, president of the Royal College of Radiologists, whose 3,000 members examine patients' scan results, said it was "very concerned by these figures which reflect the extreme pressure on imaging services.
"These waiting times do not take account of delays in reporting, so the situation is even worse."
Ciarán Devane, chief executive at Macmillan Cancer Support described the situation as "extremely worrying" and said hospitals that do not meet the targets risk putting a patient's best chance of survival at risk.
Ed Murphy, senior Macmillan development manager for the South West said; "Every person facing a cancer diagnosis should have access to timely, quality cancer care and support regardless of where they live. The sooner cancer is diagnosed and treated, the better the outcome is likely to be so it's worrying that people are facing delays.
"There are many factors which contribute to the diversity of figures across the country and there is a great amount of work to be done to fully understand what each of those are.
Andy Burnham MP, Labour's Shadow Health Secretary, said the number of people waiting over six weeks for tests had soared since the election and blamed the Government. "Patients are waiting longer for crucial tests – causing stress and real anguish," he said.