Cancer: Medical Treatments

(asked on 23rd May 2018) - View Source

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 reasons for the NHS not meeting the operational standard on the 62 day time limit between urgent GP referral and first definitive treatment for cancer; and if he will make a statement.


Answered by
Steve Brine Portrait
Steve Brine
This question was answered on 4th June 2018

There has been a continuing rise in demand for cancer services, with urgent general practitioner referrals for cancer rising by over 70,000 compared to last year.

Achieving the 62-day standard was a key objective in the Government’s mandate to NHS England for 2017-18 and this has been rolled forward into 2018-19. NHS England is investing this year in initiatives to recover and maintain the 62-day standard nationally, such as pathway coordinators and timed, standardised pathways.

The National Health Service is committed to achieving the 62-day cancer waiting times standard in 2018/19, and to maintaining performance against the other cancer waiting times standards.

Latest data for March 2018 shows that the National Health Service is meeting six out of eight cancer waiting times standards.

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