PATIENTS in Scotland wait longer to receive less cancer care, according to a new report.

In a study published in medical journal the Lancet Oncology, University College London researchers working with the International Cancer Benchmarking Partnership (ICBP) looked at the experiences of 780,000 cancer patients in Australia, Canada, Norway and Britain between 2012 and 2017.

It found that all parts of the UK were less likely to treat people with chemotherapy than other countries, with Scotland using the treatment on only 29.3 per cent of patients — just 0.5 per cent more than lowest performer Northern Ireland — compared with 39.1 per cent in Norway, 38.5 per cent in Canadian provinces in the study, and 42.1 per cent in the Australian states of New South Wales and Victoria.

Only Saskatchewan in Canada, where patients waited an average of 74 days, fared worse than Scotland’s 65-day wait time for chemotherapy, and only Wales topped Scotland’s 79-day wait for radiotherapy at 81 days.

Responding to the data, Cancer Research UK’s Dr Sorcha Hume said: “The Scottish government’s new cancer strategy promises to improve cancer survival and provide excellent, equitably accessible care for all cancer patients in Scotland, so it’s crucial the Scottish government delivers on its promises.

“A particular focus should be those set out in the strategy’s first three-year action plan, including the commitment to rolling out new pathways for patients and addressing the current workforce issues facing cancer services.”

Professor David Cameron, a deputy chair of the ICBP and chair of the Scottish National Systemic Anti-Cancer Therapy programme board, said: “We now need to look at our own data and see why we appear to be different, and what we can do to improve the care offered here in Scotland.”

But Scottish Labour’s Carol Mochan said it is not just waiting times that are harming patients but hurdles to getting diagnosed in the first place.

As an example, despite the SNP Scottish government’s 2021 women’s health plan stating that self-sampling for cervical cancer could help overcome barriers, a Scottish Labour freedom of information request has revealed that just one of Scotland’s 14 health boards — Dumfries & Galloway — has piloted the idea.

Ms Mochan, Scottish Labour women’s health spokeswoman, said: “It remains the case that inequalities exist in relation to screening between those living in the most and least deprived areas, and that is why it remains of critical importance for screening programmes to continue to develop and advance.

“That only one health board in Scotland has piloted self-sampling is simply unacceptable.

“The SNP government must wake up to the ticking timebomb of cervical cancer and act to ensure the piloting of self-sampling is rolled out nationwide.”