Northern Ireland fails to meet target times for suspected cancer

The health service in Northern Ireland is said to be suffering from an "unprecedented financial challenge"

Northern Ireland has failed to meet any of its target times for the treatment of patients referred for suspected cancer.

Government guidelines say 95% of patients should begin treatment within 62 days after an urgent GP referral.

In January, 71.8% of men and women were treated with that figure increasing by more than 1% in March.

The way potential breast cancer cases were dealt with was particularly poor.

There was a decrease in the number of patients first seen within 14 days following an urgent referral for suspected breast cancer - 94.4% in January to 82.2% in March.

That means 934 of the 1,146 patients were seen on time.

Earlier this week, it emerged that women in NI have the worst survival rates in the UK and the worst chances of having access to a clinical trial for ovarian cancer.

The charity, Target Ovarian Cancer, warned that where you live can impact on access to treatment which can increase a woman's chances of survival.