CHRONIC staff shortages have been blamed for thousands being left waiting for cancer diagnosis in a damning new report.

Cancer Research UK says that some 65,400 people every month in England are waiting too long to find out whether they have cancer.

The target is for 75 per cent of patients to receive either a cancer diagnosis or the all-clear within a month, but the charity say this target has not been met since it was introduced last year.

Cancer Research UK said that people were being failed by the system, which lacks the capacity to deal with the numbers needing to be seen and this was due to chronic shortages of specialists across the NHS.

The charity’s chief executive, Michelle Mitchell, said: “As a country we should not be willing to accept that over one in four people on an urgent referral are left waiting over a month to find out whether they have cancer.

“The government must take this opportunity to deliver for the millions of people affected by cancer.”

A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: “We are committed to reducing waiting times for cancer patients.”