HOSPITALS in Greater Manchester and Cheshire have the worst record in the country for starting patients on cancer treatments within two months.
More than 100 people had to wait more than two months between seeing their GP and starting treatment, meaning the region's health trusts are failing to meet a key government target.
About a quarter of patients at the region's specialist cancer hospital, the Christie, and at Stockport and Trafford hospitals were not treated within the target time, according to the latest government figures, prompting an inquiry by regional health bosses.
The probe by NHS North West reveals that almost all the delays come when patients are treated by more than one hospital.
They have asked Christie bosses, who treat only patients referred by other hospitals, to work with Department of Health trouble-shooters to improve the referral system.
Joe Rafferty, director of commissioning and performance at NHS North West, said: "In August, for the first time, the 62-day pathway/95 per cent standard was achieved nationally. But this masks poor performance against this target in the north west.
"All patients should either have cancer excluded or confirmed with a decision to treat within 28 days. This is being closely monitored.
"Manchester's Christie Hospital has been charged with establishing a network to support the intensive tracking of individual patients and provide greater transparency between trusts."
Tracking
Christie bosses have introduced a new agreement that if hospital managers want to refer patients to a different hospital, they must do so within a month.
They have also set up one `live' patient waiting list across Greater Manchester and Cheshire which every hospital can see at any time.
All hospitals are now sharing their detailed `patient tracking information' on a daily basis so that they can predict and plan for patients who may need to be referred.
A Christie spokeswoman said: "We are consistently achieving our end of the agreement and treating over 95 per cent of all patients within one month of them being referred to us.
"We have even been able to treat some patients within the two-month target when they have been referred late to us.
"However, less than half of all patients are being referred to us within one month.
"In every single case where we have failed to meet the two-month target, the patient has been referred late to us."
Dr Chris Burke, chief executive of Stockport Foundation Trust, which runs Stepping Hill Hospital, said: "We have strengthened the cancer support team, introduced our own cancer charter standards and agreed new clinical protocols, including streamlining the referral process."
Martin Wakeley, director of modernisation and performance at Trafford Healthcare Trust, which runs Trafford General, said: "The figures are skewed because they treat only a small number of cancer patients and the figure represents just eight cases."
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Some things never change
Christies hasnt gotten any better over the last 25+ yrs.
for reasons beyond my controll I have moved 3 times in the last 3 years,at 1 point winding up homeless with two kids to care for & a demanding job to hold down,even recently I've found [thankfully found out] that important letters from the nhs still end up on the doormat of the property I first resided in. At my last place I recieved mail for 3 different people regarding cancer treatment which of course I accordingly them sent back, or in 1 case forwaded the letter because the letter inside showed a completely different address than mine. The more the nhs distributes its admin services over a wider area, even moving out of the uk, the worse this will get, and I find it hard to believe I'm the only one who's had these experiences. At all times the relevant people have been informed of my change of addy, yet they still fluff it up?
A friend recently missed an extremely important consultation because the NHS sent his change of appointment letter to a place he'd lived in 4 years previously, despite him have recieved letters from them to his new residence during that time, how can that happen?
I went to my GP on August 11th this year when he diagnosed probable breast cancer. I saw a Consultant at the Nightingale Centre, Withington, 2 weeks later on August 25th who, after a morning of tests, confirmed the diagnosis. Two weeks after that, on September 8th, I had a mastectomy at Wythenshawe Hospital . I saw my Consultant Oncologist at Christie Hospital on October 17th and my chemotherapy treatment started on October 24th. I cannot praise too highly the treatment I have received and the speed with which it has all been arranged. Thank you to the NHS.