By Harry Bell
Action must be taken now to ensure those in the most deprived areas get the cancer care that they need, Scottish Labour has said today.
Statistics published this morning have shown that there is a shocking 21 percentage point gap between bowel cancer screening uptake between the most (54 per cent) and least (75 per cent) deprived population quintiles.
The statistics show that screening uptake was below 60 per cent for both men and women in the most deprived areas.
At the same time, waiting times for colonoscopies have increased with only a fifth of people being seen within four weeks of a positive test result.
Only last week, Cancer Research UK revealed that Scotland is lagging behind the rest of the UK and other countries in delivering cancer treatment.
Scottish Labour health spokesperson Jackie Baillie, right, said: “These statistics lay bare the ongoing postcode lottery in cancer care.
“The fact that those in the most deprived areas are so much more likely to not take up the screening opportunity and potentially miss out on care is simply unacceptable.
“Cancer remains Scotland’s biggest killer and we cannot allow a whole section of society to go without the care that they deserve.
“Health inequality is a blight on Scotland – it’s time Neil Gray got to work to ensure that health care is available for all those who need it.”