Foyle MLA Mark H Durkan has tabled an urgent question to the Health Minister following revelations that cancer waiting list targets are consistently being missed in almost every Trust.
Mr Durkan (pictured), the SDLP spokesperson on health, said the figures were “scandalous and completely unacceptable.”
He added: “Every day that someone is delayed treatment for cancer, their condition potentially becomes less treatable. The severe anxiety this causes cannot be overstated. It impacts on work, family life and in many cases mental health.
“With an aging population and an anticipated increase in the incidence of cancer in the not too distant future, the fact that almost every Trust is struggling so badly should concern everyone.
“This scandal is only the latest in a long line for cancer patients here. With lifesaving drugs available in England but not here and with waiting lists continuing to grow, they will quite understandably feel that they are way down on the Government’s list of priorities.
“The Health Service in Northern Ireland is now the only one on these islands currently operating without a cancer strategy.
“That there is no evidence one will be forthcoming from the Government any time soon is intolerable yet sadly typical. The public can no longer afford for the Government to put this on the long finger.”
Mr Durkan concluded: “There is clearly an urgent need for decisive intervention by the Minister on this issue and that is why I have tabled this urgent oral question to find out exactly what she is doing.”
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