ALMOST half of cancer patients in Halesowen and Sandwell are being let down by late diagnosis, official figures reveal.

In the postcode lottery, Sandwell is in the bottom category of “greatest need for improvement”.

Just 53.6 per cent of patients were diagnosed in the early stages of the disease and 65.8 per cent survived for a year after treatment.

The Ofsted-style ratings of the nation’s 209 Clinical Commissioning Groups ordered by health secretary Jeremy Hunt, put Dudley’s in the “needs improvement” category with 54.9 per cent of patients receiving early diagnosis.

Its one year survival rate for patients of 67.3 per cent was slightly better than in Sandwell and West Birmingham, where the CCG has promised an “urgent review” into cancer services.

Its spokesman said: “We are obviously concerned about the latest cancer data released as part of the Improvement and Assessment Framework.

“Our governing body is meeting today (Wednesday) and will be discussing the matter with the intention of undertaking an urgent review of areas that can be quickly improved, alongside a longer term improvement plan that will be shared with our population over the coming months.”

Delayed treatment statistics were better in Sandwell and West Birmingham with 84.7 per cent of patients treated within 62 days compared with 75.9 per cent in Dudley between January and March.

But Dudley CCG’s chief finance and operating officer Matthew Hartland announced that from April to June the 85 per cent target for treating patients within 62 days had been surpassed, reaching 86.9 per cent.

He said: “We aim to deliver the 85 per cent national standard for the remainder of 2016/17.

Mr Hartland added: “We are delighted that the 62-day wait is continuing to improve and are on track to meet the target for this year.

“For people diagnosed early, we are at 54.9 per cent and that figure places us in the top 15 per cent of CCGs. We will continue to improve in that area and we are working closely with our providers to improve patient survivorship for one year and beyond.

"This will be a key focus of the CCG’s service developments in the next two years.”

The Dudley CCG fared slightly better in the percentage of patients rating their care positively with 87.7 per cent compared to 84.4 per cent over the border.

Dudley is one of 156 CCGs needing improvement and the figures show just seven CCGs in the top ranking while 22 were rated as “performing well”.