A RECORD 1.1 million patients are waiting for NHS cancer scans and tests as the Covid crisis causes huge delays.
One in four patients has been stuck in the queue for more than six weeks, according to official figures.
The backlog has more than doubled in the past decade and doctors fear it could take at least 12 years to catch up.
Some 144,558, one in ten patients referred for urgent cancer checks, have been languishing for more than 13 weeks.
Medics say the delays are intolerable and will have a “catastrophic” impact.
Figures from NHS England show the number of people waiting for cancer tests and scans went from 443,000 in 2010 to 873,000 in 2019 — and has now hit an alarming 1.1 million.
Despite NHS targets for 99 per cent of patients to be tested within six weeks, 356,784 are waiting longer than that.
Shockingly, the number waiting more than 14 weeks has skyrocketed from just 523 before the pandemic to 144,558 today.
Shadow health secretary Wes Streeting said: “No one should be left waiting and wondering for months for tests and scans, especially when it comes to cancer. NHS waiting lists hit record levels before the pandemic, thanks to a decade of Conservatives mismanagement.
“It’s not just that the Tories didn’t fix the roof when the sun was shining, they dismantled the roof and removed the floorboards.”
A Health Department spokesman said yesterday: “We provided £2billion this year and £8billion over the next three years, which will deliver an extra nine million checks, scans, and operations.”
