Personal Growth

More than a third of cancer patients in England have failed to amass the family connections necessary to avoid the risk of fatal delays in treatment. Last December 7,661 cancer patients had to wait more than the recommended maximum of sixty-two days before commencing treatment, and among them 2,227 had to wait ninety days or more. Fortunately for the nation's well-being, neither of those numbers included the patient who matters; which will doubtless be a great comfort to those who lacked the entrepreneurial gumption to secure an appropriate pedigree. Meanwhile, the number of people waiting more than eighteen months for routine treatments rose in December; while last month the number who had to wait more than twelve hours in an accident and emergency department between the decision to admit them and the actual admission was the second-highest on record. Evidently the present level of efficiency savings remains an insufficient deterrent against becoming economically inactive.