Western Trust is best in the north for meeting cancer targets

It was one of only two trusts to meet the ministerial target of treating 98 per cent of cancer patients within a month of a decision to treat.

The new data for October to December 2019 show that in December, across the north, 810 patients commenced their first treatment for cancer within 31 days of a decision to treat. That compared with 933 in November, 1,011 in October and 772 in December 2018. The Ministerial target has not been met in the last 3 years across the north as a whole. However, the Western Trust bucked this trend.

“The Southern Trust achieved the 98% Ministerial target in December and the Western Trust in October, November and December,” a report bulletin states.

WHSCT also met the target of seeing all urgent breast cancer referrals within 14 days: “The South Eastern, Southern and Western HSC Trusts achieved the 100% Ministerial target in October, November and December, Belfast achieved this target in two months and Northern in one month of the quarter.”