Sinn Féin MLA Colm Gildernew has said ongoing delays in cancer diagnosis and treatment must be addressed as a matter of urgency.

Responding to new data from the Cancer Waiting Times Statistics, the party’s health spokesperson said:

“New data from the Department of Health shows that waiting times for treatments and referrals increased during the autumn.

“The pandemic has placed huge pressure on the entire health service, but almost two years on, the Department of Health still hasn’t secured adequate cancer services for patients. 

“Like many of the challenges facing health and social care, delays in cancer treatments are connected to staff shortages and lack of workforce planning.

“We need to see an urgent plan from the Health Minister to tackle staff shortages and address the problems leading to these delays.”