ONE cancer patient at East Lancashire Hospitals Trust waited more than half a year for treatment, new figures have revealed.

The patient in question was waiting for treatment for 202 days last year, according to a freedom of information (FOI) request.

That is against a national treatment target of 62 days following an urgent referral from a GP.

On average, patients at East Lancashire Hospitals Trust (ELHT) waited 51 days to receive their first treatment for cancer in 2017, compared to 33 at Salford Royal Foundation Trust and 37 at Bolton Foundation Trust.

Data was obtained by the Labour Party.

And the latest NHS figures for March shows the trust failed to meet the national target of 85 per cent of patients receiving their first treatment for cancer within 62 days, with the trust only recording a figure of 79.49 per cent.

The trust said it achieved the national target in nine out of 12 months during 2017-18.

Mary Brennan, the founder and trustee of Barnoldswick and Earby Bosom Friends, who support people affected by cancer in the Pendle, Ribble Valley, and Craven areas, said the figures could affect survival chances.

She said: "These are unacceptable figures and they also seem to show a postcode lottery in cancer care with funding cutbacks not helping."

John Bannister, director of operations at (ELHT) said: “On behalf of each patient with a confirmed or suspected cancer diagnosis, the trust works extremely hard to meet all the cancer performance standards and takes every opportunity to provide treatment as quickly as possible.

"Despite continued challenges, the trust achieved the national target in nine out of 12 months during 2017-18. In fact, the trust’s overall annual performance of 86.3 per cent exceeded the national standard.

The trust said reasons for treatment not beginning within 62 days included an 'extremely high demand' for diagnostic requests, complex medical problems potentially postponing the start of treatment and patient choice.