More than a quarter of Brits are waiting over a month for cancer test results due to NHS delays

MORE than a quarter of Britons are waiting more than a month for cancer test results due to NHS delays.

Patients with warning signs should receive a diagnosis or the all-clear within 28 days of being referred to a specialist.

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But Cancer Research UK says an average of 65,400 people are waiting longer each month and are scared for weeks.

Just half of hospitals are meeting the minimum standard of diagnosing 75 per cent of patients within four weeks – due to staff shortages and backlogs made worse by Covid.

Michelle Mitchell, CEO of Cancer Research, said: “We should not accept that more than one in four people with an urgent referral have to wait more than a month to find out if they have cancer.

“Nor should we stand for the differences that exist across the country.”

The charity wants the bar to be raised so that 95 percent of patients get a straight answer within a month.

Earlier diagnosis increases the chances of a cancer patient.

Hospitals do not have enough specialized cancer staff, such as radiologists, to create and interpret scans to keep up with patient demand.

Health ministers are preparing a long-term plan that will be crucial to improving NHS cancer care.