I'm sure patients are dying unnecessarily

Dr Nick James

Shadow health secretary Dr Liam Fox has accused the government has deliberately misled cancer patients about the length of time they are likely to wait for treatment.

The number of patients starting radiotherapy within the government target of four weeks since their consultant recommended it has fallen from 68% in 1998 to 32% in 2000, says the report.

Some people wait as long as eight months for radiotherapy, in which time their cancers become incurable, it adds.

The report's author Dr Nick James, of Birmingham University's Institute for Cancer Studies, said patients are dying while they wait.

Regional variations

He told the Observer this showed a "widespread failure" to meet waiting time targets which had serious repercussions for patients and the national cancer plan.

"Tumours don't get smaller while you wait, they get bigger," he told the paper.

Waiting times for radiotherapy is rising in all parts of the UK, apart from Wales and Northern Ireland, according to the report.

The average waiting time rose from 5.1 weeks in 1999 to six weeks last year, but there are huge regional variations.

Spinning to the sick in this way is as low as it gets

Shadow health secretary Dr Liam Fox

And the newspaper reports there could be compensation claims against hospitals in the cases where a patient waits more than six months.

UK cancer survival rates are lower than many other European countries.

A World Health Organisation survey is expected to say that 10,000 lives could be saved each year by raising cancer care to the EU average, the paper said.

A Department of Health spokesman said: "Historically there has been a shortage of radiographers but the number of radiographers has gone up by nearly 10% since 1997.

"But we accept that there are still not enough of them and that people are waiting too long for treatment.

'Scandal'

"That is why we are taking every possible step to increase the numbers of radiographers, including raising awareness among school leavers, making more training places available and introducing a new grade of assistant radiographer.

"But obviously it does take time to turn the situation around."

But Dr Fox said: "Why has it been left to others to reveal this alarming situation?"

"What is really scandalous is that in order to hide their failure, ministers have been misleading the public that things have actually been improving.

"Spinning to the sick in this way is as low as it gets."