Prospective Liberal Democrat MP for Wellington Gideon Amos has said 'people here deserve better' after new research shows 4 in 10 cancer patients at NHS Somerset Foundation Trust hospitals stuck on waiting lists for over 2 months last year.

Research commissioned by the Liberal Democrats with the House of Commons Library has shown that 39 per cent of cancer patients were on the waiting list for over 2 months last year at the trusts' hospitals.

Gideon Amos - Liberal Democrat Parliamentary candidate for Taunton Deane - said: “While I’ve seen for myself how doctors and nurses in Taunton and Wellington are working their socks off, the Government has been driving our local health services into the ground and taking patients for granted for years – people here deserve better.

“Delays to cancer diagnoses and treatments are incredibly distressing for those with cancer and those who fear they may have it.

“When the economy was booming we called for a 1p in the pound income tax rise which would have raised £7Billion for the NHS. Instead, this Conservative Government has its head in the sand over staff shortages and no real plan to fix it."

Commenting on the data a spokesperson for Somerset NHS Foundation Trust said: “We have seen a significant increase in the number of patients referred to us with suspected cancer over the last six months.

“For some types of cancer, we’re seeing over 40% more referrals compared with the same period before the COVID-19 pandemic. This follows a number of high profile celebrity deaths over the last year, which has prompted more people to visit their GP, something which has been replicated in many parts of the country.

“We are working hard to increase the capacity of our diagnostic services in line with this higher level of demand, but this hasn’t always been possible, leading to some delays for specific diagnostic tests. However, we have continued to treat patients within clinically appropriate timescales.

“Our advice to the public is to be aware of the possible symptoms of cancer and seek advice from your GP if you are concerned. In most cases, the cause of any symptoms you experience is not cancer, but it’s important to get these symptoms checked as diagnosing cancer at an early stage means we are more likely to be able to treat it successfully.”