ONE IN five cancer patients in Southampton had to wait more than two months to start treatment in August figures reveal.

But this is still an improvement on the same time last year and the area is beating two other important national targets for this measure, data reveals.

The NHS has a target for 85 per cent of all referrals to start treatment within two months but NHS England figures show that only 79 per cent of NHS Southampton Clinical Commissioning Group patients received their first cancer treatment within 62 days of a GP urgent referral in August.

This is up six percentage points from 73 per cent in August last year.

Southampton is also smashing the target of 93 per cent of patients having their first cancer consultant’s appointment within two weeks - in the city’s health area 96 per cent of patients are seen in that time.

And while the national target for cancer-related surgery is 94 per cent of patients hitting the measure within a month, in Southampton 95 per cent are seen in that timescale.

Across England, the proportion of those waiting within two weeks for their first consultant appointment dropped to a record low of 89 per cent in August, compared to 92 per cent last year.

Ten years ago, in October 2009, the earliest period available, 95 per cent of patients attended their first consultation appointment within two weeks.

Cancer Research UK’s policy manager, Matt Case, said: “Too many patients are waiting too long after an urgent GP referral to get a diagnosis and start treatment.

“It’s already a stressful time for them, and delays can make that even worse.

“Diagnosing more cancers at an early stage is impossible without more people being referred for tests.

“But despite NHS staff working harder than ever, there just aren’t enough people to deliver the number of tests needed.”

A Department of Health and Social Care spokesman said the number of patients being urgently referred for suspected cancer has more than doubled in 2018-19 compared to 2009-10, as well as “tens of thousands” of additional doctors and nurses in the NHS who are “all working tirelessly to deliver excellent, safe care”.