Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how the full roll-out of the non-specific symptom pathways is being measured; and how their development has included the less survivable cancers.

Since 2019, NHS England and cancer alliances have been developing non-specific symptom (NSS) pathways for patients who present with vague and non-site-specific symptoms which do not clearly align to a tumour type. Full roll out of NSS pathways has been achieved with 115 live NSS pathways across England. This is particularly relevant to less survivable cancers which are often diagnosed at a later stage due to their non-specific symptoms.

Trusts and providers are working to achieve the Faster Diagnosis Standard (FDS), which ensures patients are diagnosed or have cancer ruled out within 28 days of being urgently referred. NSS pathways should support patients until they are diagnosed and referred onward or their symptoms resolve, aligning with the FDS, and providers of NSS pathways should ensure patient administration systems can capture and report the NSS referral and any subsequent diagnosis.

Additionally, best practiced timed pathways to support the FDS are being developed for all suspected cancer pathways, including NSS pathways.