What the average waiting times are for cancer treatment by cancer type, broken down by health board.

Cancer is one of the three clinical priorities for the NHS in Scotland. Reducing waiting times for investigation and treatment are a high priority within the Scottish Cancer Group's work programme.Initial treatment for cancer can take place in either an outpatient or inpatient setting. Information on waiting times for cases where treatment starts in an outpatient setting is not held centrally.Information on the time from a patient being placed on the waiting list for treatment of cancer and their admission to hospital is available centrally. The median waiting times for the four main cancers and all other cancers, in the year ending 31 March 2000, by Health Board of residence, is given in the table.The Scottish Executive is providing additional funding to support the diagnosis and treatment of cancer. I recently announced a rolling modernisation programme which will provide new linear accelerators and treatment planning simulators in all cancer centres, new and replacement MRI scanners, and imaging equipment to help further speed up diagnosis.NHS In Scotland: Median Waiting Time For Hospital Admission For Treatment For The Main Four Cancers And All Other Cancers: 31 March 2000pHealth Board | Colorectal Cancer | Lung Cancer | Breast Cancer | Ovarian Cancer | All Other Cancers
| Median Wait(Days) | Median Wait (Days) | Median Wait (Days) | Median Wait (Days) | Median Wait (Days)
Argyll and Clyde | 6 | 7 | 5 | 3 | 11
Ayrshire and Arran | 9 | 5 | 7 | 6 | 15
Borders | 7 | 6 | 7 | 9 |