Last updated on March 11th, 2024 at 11:46 am

According to the Guardian, hundreds of thousands of people in the UK suffering with cancer are being forced to pay for private treatment, due to excessive NHS waiting times.

The Guardian has reported that figures from November show that 1 in 10 people are not receiving treatment within 31 days of their cancer being found and a decision being made on treatment.

The amount of patients waiting less than 62 days from an urgent cancer referral or consultant upgrade to receiving their first treatment for cancer is 65.2%. Far lower than the 85% target set by the government.

They go on to report that record numbers of people are now paying for private healthcare. In the last five years nearly 300,000 people have paid for chemotherapy.

The Guardian was supplied these figures by the Private Healthcare Information Network, and the figure is believed to be much higher, as the numbers given  do not include people who have paid for radiotherapy, cancer surgeries or any other type of private cancer treatment.

With record waiting times, cancer survival rates are far behind most other European countries for 9 out of 10 of the most common types of the disease.

Last week Cancer Research UK released a report that said progress in UK cancer survival was now slower than it has been for 50 years and went on to say that waiting times were the worst on record.

The report mentioned that too many cancers were diagnosed at a late stage and treatment across the country was not equal.

If you think you have been affected by misdiagnosis, or delayed treatment for cancer you can read our article by our Partner and Head of Clinical Negligence, Nikki Yavari. Nikki and her team are experts in clinical negligence and have supported many clients who have suffered from delayed diagnosis.