The Department of Health today published the NI Cancer Waiting Times Statistics Release for October, November and December 2020.
The release gives details of the waiting times for patients accessing cancer services at hospitals during October, November and December 2020.
Key facts and figures are listed below:
Waiting times for first treatment following an urgent GP referral for suspect cancer (62 day target)
- In December 2020, 333 patients commenced their first treatment for cancer following an urgent referral for suspect cancer. Of these, 55.3% (184 patients) started treatment within 62 days, compared with 53.2% (206 of the 387 patients) in November, 59.4% (224 of the 377 patients) in October and 49.9% (175 of the 351 patients) in December 2019.
Waiting times for first definitive treatment following a decision to treat (31 day target)
- During December 2020, 792 patients commenced their first treatment for cancer following a decision to treat being taken. Of these, 93.4% (740) started treatment within 31 days, compared with 93.1% (778 of the 836 patients) in November, 96.6% (795 of the 823 patients) in October and 93.7% (759 of the 810 patients) in December 2019.
Patients first seen following an urgent referral for suspect breast cancer (14 day target)
- During December 2020, 1,499 patients were seen by a breast cancer specialist for a first assessment following an urgent referral for suspect breast cancer. Of these, 62.2% (933) were seen within 14 days, compared with 46.8% (709 of the 1,514 patients) in November, 70.5% (947 of the 1,343 patients) in October and 88.5% (903 of the 1,020 patients) in December 2019.
Referrals for suspect breast cancer
- In December 2020, 1,848 new referrals for suspect breast cancer were received; this compares to 2,117 in November, 2,334 in October and 1,518 in December 2019. Referrals for suspect breast cancer can be for advice, assessment or both.
- Of those new referrals for suspect breast cancer in December 2020, 1,350 (73.1%) were classified as urgent.
