One in four cancer patients in Lewisham waited two months or more to start treatment, ominous new figures have revealed.

They had to endure this wait after an urgent referral from their GP.

The Government has a target of 85 per cent of referrals to start treatment within two months.

However, this was not met in either Lewisham or Bromley.

Dr Fran Woodward, a director at Macmillan Cancer Support, said the figures prove “the pressure on cancer services is truly beginning to bite”.

Between October 2017 and September 2018, 149 of 593 cancer patients in Lewisham did not start their treatment within 62 days of referral, which is well below the NHS target.

These patients were treated were treated in a variety of hospitals in south east London.

A spokesman for Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Trust told News Shopper: "Of the 593 patients who were treated at Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Trust, 84.4 per cent were treated within the 62-day standard."

In Bromley, 80 per cent of patients did begin treatment within two months, but this is still below the national average.

Dr Fran Woodward said: “We must not forget that at the heart of these figures are thousands of cancer patients anxiously waiting for referral for diagnosis or to start treatment.”

A spokeswoman for King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust told News Shopper: “Cancer patients can be referred by their GP to any NHS hospital and only some patients from Bromley will come to King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust for their treatment.

“In June 2018 we implemented a plan to improve waiting times for cancer patients. This plan includes working closely with colleagues across south-east London to maximise capacity and minimise delays.

“There has also been significant investment in cancer services at King’s, and additional nursing, medical and administrative staff have been employed to provide extra capacity. The service is running additional clinics and a new, more efficient cancer IT system has recently been rolled out.”

An NHS spokeswoman said more patients are being treated for cancer than ever before.

She added an extra £10 million was recently injected to treat people coming forward.