More women are waiting longer than the recommended two-week target to see a breast cancer specialist in the West Country than anywhere else in the country, according to a new report by the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Breast Cancer (APPGBC) supported by leading charity Breast Cancer Now.

The report, A Mixed Picture: An Inquiry into Geographical Inequalities and Breast Cancer, claims that, depending on where they live in England, some women are more than twice as likely to die from breast cancer under the age of 75.

Following a year-long inquiry (October 2016 - November 2017), which gathered evidence from NHS leaders, clinicians, patients and charities, the report found that while overall outcomes for breast cancer are improving, stark geographical inequalities exist across England in screening, early detection and access to treatment and services.

The inquiry found the South West to be falling short of the recommended referral target – with more than 15% of patients waiting longer than two weeks to see a specialist(15.5%), over three times more than in the North East (4.4%).

With the report’s publication, Thangam Debonnaire, MP for Bristol West and co-chair of the APPGBC, has called for NHS England and Public Health England to intervene to address the geographical variation