Charities have voiced disappointment after key timescale targets for the treatment of cancer patients were missed.
One target sets out that 95% of patients urgently referred when doctors suspected cancer should wait no more than 62 days from referral to their first cancer treatment.
But in the first quarter of this year, 90.2% of patients in Scotland started treatment within the timeframe. This was down by 0.6% compared to the last three months of 2015.
The target, known as the 62-day standard, was met by three NHS boards – Borders, Dumfries and Galloway and Lanarkshire.
Meanwhile, a separate target sets out that 95% of patients should wait no more than 31 days from receiving a decision to treat to their first cancer treatment.
The benchmark was narrowly missed overall in January to March, with official statistics showing 94.9% of patients started treatment within this standard.
This is a 1.5% point decrease compared to the previous quarter, statisticians found.
The 31-day standard was met by 11 NHS boards, with Tayside, Grampian, Greater Glasgow and Clyde, and Lothian missing the mark.
Elspeth Atkinson, director of Macmillan Cancer Support in Scotland, said: “We are extremely disappointed that both cancer waiting-times targets have now been missed. It has been over three years since the 62-day target was hit.
“Every additional day waiting for tests or results is another day of stress for people with cancer and their families, and long delays can also impact on survival rates.
“The Scottish Government must identify why these targets are being repeatedly missed and work with health boards to take urgent action to rectify this.”
Emlyn Samuel, Cancer Research UK’s senior policy manager, said: “It is unacceptable that time and time again these targets aren’t met.
“Cancer is still Scotland’s most common cause of death. To give patients the best chance of survival, it is vital they are diagnosed and treated swiftly.
“This should be a priority in Scotland’s new cancer strategy as we need to see fast progress to address poor waiting times.”
The Scottish Government said the implementation of its £100 million cancer strategy will drive improvements in access to cancer care.
Health Secretary Shona Robison said the strategy – launched in March and being implemented this year – will invest in the prevention, detection, diagnosis, treatment and aftercare for cancer patients and improve treatment waiting times.
She pointed out the median wait from a doctor’s decision to treat to a patient beginning treatment is six days.
Ms Robison said: “It is vital that we treat cancer as quickly as possible and that’s why we have set rigorous standards in this area.
“Under this government, cancer waiting times have improved dramatically and overall cancer death rates have dropped by 11% in the last 10 years.
“The figures published today also show that once a decision has been made for a patient to receive treatment, the median wait for this is less than a week.
“However, further improvements need to be made to ensure that everybody in Scotland – no matter where they live or what type of cancer they have – are able to get timely access to cancer diagnostics and treatment.”
