ALMOST 45,000 people are waiting more than the six-week standard for vital tests to diagnose conditions such as cancer, Scottish Labour has warned.
The number has more than doubled in a year, the party said.
Speaking during First Minister's Questions, Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar said the SNP Government must focus on recovery "so that we never again have to choose between treating a virus or treating cancer".
READ MORE: FMQs Recap: Nicola Sturgeon questioned over Covid and Salmond legal advice
Figures show 7,000 fewer people had a confirmed cancer diagnosis in the first eight months of the pandemic.
Mr Sarwar said the Scottish Government has not met the 62-day cancer waiting time target since 2012, and called for a full restart of cancer services.
Speaking after FMQs, he said: "A year ago saw the first Covid death in Scotland, and the pandemic has had a devastating knock-on impact on our NHS.
"But cancer has not gone away, meaning thousands of Scots don’t know they have cancer and they aren’t receiving treatment.
"We need to fully restart cancer services in Scotland, begin a catch-up programme, and find the missing 7,000 patients.
"Early diagnosis is vital – it is what saves lives, not just for cancer but for other conditions too.
"Covid has placed a huge strain on our NHS and put even more pressure on an already overstretched workforce.
"But Covid didn’t create this problem; it has made a bad situation worse.
"We can’t come through Covid and go back to the old arguments. Instead, we should focus on what unites us as a country, not what divides us, with a recovery and a catch-up plan for our NHS - so that we never again have to choose between treating a virus or treating cancer."
Nicola Sturgeon said the majority of cancer treatments have continued during the pandemic.
She urged anybody worried about symptoms to contact their local GP and stressed the NHS is open.
Speaking during FMQs, she said: "There's a range of actions being taken to make sure that any treatment that has been delayed because of Covid restarts and that we catch up on that as quickly as possible.
"But let's not lose sight of the fact that many cancer treatments have and will continue through the pandemic."
Ms Sturgeon insisted recovering from the pandemic is the focus of the Government.
She said average waits before Covid were "very short" in Scotland, but that ministers have recognised "for a long time" that there is more to do.
She added: "Covid has undoubtedly been a serious difficulty because of the pause in many normal aspects of the NHS that it has necessitated.
"But that is why, through investment, through reforms to how treatments are being delivered and through many of the actions I've set out, we're now focused on getting the NHS back to normal."
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