Call for action on cancer waiting times

Bosses at Shire Hall have agreed to write to the Chief Executive of the NHS in Gloucestershire over cancer waiting times.

Waiting time targets were missed every month last year for the 62-day target to start treatment across Gloucestershire and every month bar one for the 31-day target.

Cllr Paul Hodgkinson, Prospective MP for the North Cotswolds, who led the call for action, told a packed council chamber recently:

“I am very concerned about the state of the NHS in Gloucestershire. Health surely is the number one priority for all of us.

“With NHS waiting times spiralling out of control, I believe that Gloucestershire residents shouldn’t have to worry about waiting lists for the cancer care they or their loved ones may need.

‘Many of us have been touched by cancer in some way. Our NHS staff are stretched, often pushed to the limit and they do an amazing job, but 3 out of 4 of them are considering quitting according to surveys.. Why? It is a result of the long-term underfunding of our NHS, and its mismanagement by the Government. The service is broken, just like so many others in our country.

Councillors voted unanimously to support Cllr Hodgkinson’s call.