Urgent review of cancer cases as patients left waiting too long
Clinical harm reviews will be carried out for cancer patients who have had treatment delayed because of the coronavirus crisis.
Hundreds of patients in the Black Country and Staffordshire have faced delays of up to four months for cancer treatment, double the longest time they should be waiting.
Health bosses said there had been “significant waits” across the region and that patients would be assessed for “psychological and physical harm”.
Latest figures showed 114 cancer patients are waiting more than 104 days to start treatment at The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust, which runs New Cross Hospital.
Another 200 are waiting at the University Hospitals of North Midlands NHS Trust, which runs Stafford County Hospital.
Hospital trusts across the Black Country are also failing to meet the target of having 85 per cent of cancer sufferers start treatment within 62 days.
The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust (RWT), which runs New Cross Hospital, is among the worst performing in the country.
At Dudley Group NHS Trust, which runs Russells Hall, 69 per cent were treated within two months, while at Walsall Healthcare NHS Trust, which runs Walsall Manor, the figure was just 60 per cent in May.
At Sandwell and West Birmingham NHS Trust, which runs Sandwell General, the figure was 73.6 per cent in April, according to the latest figures available.
