Cole-Hamilton: Cancer patients deserve better

Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton MSP has today said that "cancer patients deserve better" as new figures reveal that waiting times under the SNP Government are still among the worst on record.

In the second quarter of 2025, only 69.9% of cancer patients started treatment within the 62-day standard treatment time. This is the third worst level since records began.

Separate figures show that there were 37,202 new cancers registered in 2023 - the largest number of new cancers diagnosed in a single year in Scotland.

Alex Cole-Hamilton said:

“SNP ministers have never once met the cancer waiting times target in the thirteen years since it was introduced. Cancer patients deserve better than to be put on hold for life-saving treatment.

“More cancers are being diagnosed than ever before, but SNP ministers have failed at every juncture to meet the scale of the challenge.

“Scotland deserves a government that will move mountains for cancer patients. To boost survival rates, Scottish Liberal Democrats would bring down waiting times and launch a new national lung cancer screening programme capable of saving hundreds of lives a year, like the one already being rolled out in England. We would also enable US scientists to finish their cancer research here, instead of letting Trump cancel all their good work."