An MP has raised the issue of a constituent who has not started treatment for terminal cancer after being referred in May.

North Shropshire MP Helen Morgan called on the Government to act urgently over cancer waiting times as she raised the case in Parliament.

She was speaking after it was revealed that just 53 per cent of patients were treated within the NHS target of 62 days in August.

This means 144 patients were not treated within the target time after an urgent referral.

Helen Morgan, Liberal Democrat MP for North Shropshire, used the example of constituent Mel Lycett, who has not started treatment after the referral in May.

She: "My constituent, Mel Lycett, has terminal cancer.

"After repeated visits to her GP, she was referred on a two-week referral, an urgent pathway, in May.

"She wasn't diagnosed until the end of July and she still hasn't started treatment.

"Every single target for her diagnosis and treatment was missed.

"That's not uncommon in Shropshire and it isn't uncommon in the rest of the country.

"Can the Secretary of State reassure me what he's doing to deal with this terrible legacy left behind by the Conservative Government and how we're going to ensure that cancer patients are treated in a timely manner?"

It comes as both Royal Shrewsbury and Princess Royal Hospitals are performing well below standard, putting lives at risk across the county.

Ms Morgan described the recently published Darzi Report as a'wake-up call' to save health and care services in Shropshire.

In his report, Lord Darzi found that the 62-day target for referral for first cancer treatment has not been met since December 2015.

Wes Streeting MP, Secretary of State for Health, said: "I'm afraid what the Liberal Democrats Health spokesperson and I welcome her to a role incidentally, has just raised is just one of countless stories of people whose lives might have been saved had the NHS been there for them where they need it.

"It is bad enough when people receive a late diagnosis that equates to a death sentence.

"It is worse still when people in that particular position are then not given the fighting chance of the urgent, life-extending treatment they might receive.

"The inheritance we have received is truly shameful.

"I can assure her, as a cancer survivor myself, because the NHS was there for me when I needed it, that we will work tirelessly with a national cancer plan to make sure that we deliver the council waiting time standards that the last Labour Government met that are sorely needed today."