MUSGROVE Park Hospital in Taunton has been consistently missing targets for treating cancer, says a report.

Data from the Somerset Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) shows the NHS Trust running Musgrove and Somerset NHS Foundation Trust, has failed to meet targets for seeing patients within two weeks for a first appointment, as well as for referring suspected patients for treatment within 62 days.

The Government-set target for the ‘62-day’ treatment is for 85 per cent of patients to be seen within the timeframe.

But the trust’s rates range from 65.4 per cent to 84.8 per cent between April 2017, and March 2018.

The two-week target is 93 per cent, but it has only reached 89.8 per cent of patients seen following an urgent GP referral, and 87.1 per cent for those with breast cancer symptoms in March this year.

It has exceeded other targets, including achieving 100 per cent for patients’ subsequent treatments by anti-cancer drugs within 31 days and first ‘definitive’ treatment within 62 days of cancer screening.