Cancer waiting times down at NHS centre

The NHS Forth Valley’s Cancer Strategy report has revealed that cancer waiting times are improving, the BBC has revealed.

Diagnosis and the start of treatment are now within the national target of 62 days, according to the NHS report, with reassurance also given more quickly with people found to be cancer-free.

The report also highlights shifting patterns in cancer, with a forecasted alteration in the kind of cancers that will be more apparent in the coming years.

Prostate cancer is expected to overtake lung cancer as the most dominant cancer type in males, partly as a result of the smoking ban, the BBC reports.

NHS Forth Valley has an annual budget of more than 420 million pounds, controlled by a board of governors, according to the centre’s website.

Two acute hospitals, six community hospitals and 56 health centres make up NHS Forth Valley, which employs around 8,000 staff.

The latest report is the second such carried out by the health board about NHS Forth Valley.