Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the effect a second wave of covid-19 infections on the waiting times for breast cancer (a) appointments and (b) diagnosis.

NHS England and NHS Improvement are working to increase the resilience of breast cancer screening and diagnosis during the ongoing COVID-19 response. Funding has been made available to support the adaptation of mobile breast screening units in order to enhance their safe use and so maximise the number of units available to screen women.

NHS England and NHS Improvement have prioritised increasing the number of urgent cancer referrals, in order to reduce the number of patients waiting longer than 62 and 104 days for treatments or diagnostics, and ensuring capacity is in place for patients returning to the system in winter. The newly formed Cancer Recovery Taskforce will oversee the development of the cancer recovery plan and review progress against objectives, including considering any impact of a “second wave” of COVID-19.