Many cancer waiting time targets set to be dropped in England
Two-thirds of the cancer waiting time targets set by the NHS are likely to be eliminated in England, with the intention of detecting cancers at an earlier stage, according to the health service.
NHS administrators are aiming to streamline the targets, as the majority of them have consistently gone unmet in recent years, intending to reduce them from nine to three. This strategy is supported by prominent cancer specialists and is meant to simplify what are deemed as outdated benchmarks.
The leader of Radiotherapy UK charity, Pat Price, who is also an oncologist and visiting professor at Imperial College London, expressed significant concern. She remarked that the current performance is alarmingly subpar, and while an excess of targets could lead to disruption, the fundamental truth remains that insufficient investment is being made in expanding cancer treatment capacity.
Speaking to BBC Breakfast, Health Secretary Barclay said: “What we have is a consultation at the moment with leading clinical figures in the cancer world and with the cancer charities asking whether the checks we have got are driving the right outcomes in terms of cancer survival or whether there are better ways of measuring those.
“This is something led by clinicians working in cancer – it is not something being imposed by the government.”
Three targets are set to be kept:
- diagnosis of cancer within 28 days of referral
- starting treatment within two months of an urgent referral
- starting treatment one month after a decision to treat.