A FORMER firefighter who will have waited more than two months for treatment since he was diagnosed with cancer has described the delay as “unacceptable”.

According to NHS guidelines father-of-three and retired fire fighter Phil McGowan, from Durham City, should have begun treatment for rectal cancer by now.

The NHS Constitution states that a maximum time any patient should wait from diagnosis to first treatment for all cancers is 31 days while the longest time anyone should wait from urgent referral for suspected cancer to first treatment for all cancers is 62 days.

In Mr McGowan’s case he was the subject of an urgent referral from his GP to the University Hospital of North Durham for suspected cancer on January 19.

On February 2 he was given a verbal diagnosis of rectal cancer by a senior registrar and a consultant service following an internal examination at the Durham City hospital.

“The 31 day maximum wait should have resulted in my treatment commencing on March 16 at the very latest," said Mr McGowan, 54.

"The 62 day maximum wait should have resulted in my treatment commencing on March 23 at the very latest."

Instead, he is due to begin his first treatment at the Freeman Hospital in Newcastle on April 1.

He said: “To wait this long for treatment in this day and age is unacceptable.

"It is hardly surprising that the UK lags behind most of the rest of Europe when it comes to cancer survival rates and empty political pledges based on smoke and mirrors are just that.”

He stressed that he had no complaint about the NHS staff he has encountered during his diagnosis and expressed concern about the pressure staff were being put under to meet national treatment guidelines.

“Hospitals are doing the best they can but because of the increase in urgent referrals they can’t cope,” said Mr McGowan, who is now self-employed.

A spokesman for the County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust said: “Although we cannot discuss the details of an individual patient’s care, we would emphasise that the trust performs well in ensuring cancer patients are seen and diagnosed quickly and begin treatment promptly.

“We have a strong record of delivery on the achievement of the key 31 day and 62 day national targets for cancer treatment since the targets were introduced in 2005.

"Our clinical and cancer services teams continue to work extremely hard to ensure that each individual patient receives the highest possible quality care in as timely a manner as is possible.”