Health inequality
widens as
recession
hits poor

Nearly 39,000 people first seen for the illness last year are covered by the study which shows 60 per cent had anti-cancer treatment compared with 45 per cent in 2005.

Just under 15 per cent of patients diagnosed with lung cancer or mesothelioma had an operation compared with nine per cent in 2005.

But the audit found continuing variations, with 12.6 per cent of patients in South Yorkshire and the North Midlands undergoing surgery compared with 19.9 per cent in the Humber area.

Specialist Mick Peake, who led the audit, said performance was improving but the level of variation meant there was still “significant room for improvement”.