Hard work through the early part of the pandemic reduced north-east cancer treatment waiting lists to historic lows.
NHS Grampian maintained cancer surgery throughout the crisis in a bid to reduce a backlog of people needing treatment.
It resulted in a historical low of 13 people waiting to be treated.
The effort also bolstered performance against national targets, with 98.4% of patients receiving treatment within 31 days of their diagnosis in October.
The health board improved against the 62-day yardstick for people to go from referral from their GP to treatment, although still sits beneath government requirements.
Acute medical director, Paul Bachoo, said: “The data we have now shows the health debt, if you like, in terms of referrals from primary care is very much reduced.
“We are going to be challenged in the next three months as we manage infections, increasing coronavirus patients, increasing numbers in ITU on ventilators and movement of staff, if its required to manage the increasing number of patients in the hospital at any one time.”
