Cancer waiting time figures reveal very first breach of target

NHS England has launched figures on waiting instances for cancer treatment. Photograph: Dominic Lipinski/PA

The target time period for sufferers to start remedy right after an urgent referral for suspected cancer has been breached for the very first time since it was launched.

NHS guidelines stipulate that 85% of this kind of sufferers must wait a optimum of 62 days to get started their 1st definitive treatment following referral by their GP. Figures present the proportion slipped to 84.four% in the course of the time period from January to March, down from 85.eight% in the preceding quarter.

The national clinical director for cancer for NHS England, Sean Duffy, explained work was essential to ensure standards have been met.

“It is vital cancer sufferers are diagnosed and taken care of swiftly so they have the best possible possibility of recovery,” he explained. “Newest figures present nationally the NHS has met and exceeded 7 out of eight cancer waiting time standards. But there is variation in meeting the challenging standards, and nationwide performance against one of the targets has dipped.

“CCG commissioners are operating together with local suppliers the place the standard is not currently being met to identify the concerns to guarantee individuals are taken care of in a timely way.”

Other figures launched by NHS England on cancer waiting instances demonstrate that the proportion of men and women witnessed by a professional inside of two weeks of an urgent GP referral for suspected cancer dropped from 95.6% to 95%, and the proportion of folks urgently referred for breast signs (exactly where cancer was not initially suspected) seen within two weeks fell from 95.five% to 93.9%, just above the target of 93%.

In all cancers, patients need to encounter a highest wait of one month in between obtaining their diagnosis and the begin of very first definitive remedy, with the operational regular being 96%. This was met in 98% of cases in the very first three months of the 12 months, down from 98.three% in the previous quarter.

Ranges decreased in individuals diagnosed with breast cancer (from 99.2% to 98.9%), lung cancers (from 98.9% to 98.six%), reduce gastrointestinal cancers (98.5% to 98.3%), urological cancers (96.4% to 96.one%) and skin cancers (down from 98.1% to 97.eight%).

The failure in the 62-day wait from urgent GP referral to first definitive treatment method is the 1st breach of any cancer waiting time considering that the introduction of the existing operational common in 2009.

Even more figures relating to this target indicate that 96.6% of individuals taken care of for breast cancers met the guideline, down from 97% in the final 3 months of last yr. There had been also drops amid individuals treated for reduced gastrointestinal cancers (from 78.seven% to 76.eight%) and urological cancers excluding testicular cancer (from 81.five% to 78.seven%.)

The figures improved amid people with lung cancers, from 77.8% in the ultimate quarter of final yr to 78.2% this year, and skin cancers (from 95.eight% to 96.2%).

Figures for waiting times for 2nd or subsequent therapy demonstrate that 96.8% of people underwent surgery inside 31 days, down from 97% the previous quarter.

Mike Hobday, director of policy and investigation at Macmillan Cancer Help, stated the figures had been worrying. “This is the 1st breach of any cancer waiting time in England because 2009 and is a clear warning sign that the NHS is below enormous strain,” he mentioned.

“The Uk presently has some of the worst cancer survival charges in Europe. More sufferers are now facing delays, which indicates far more sufferers are facing nervousness for longer and more lives are currently being put at chance. We’re very anxious that the coordination of cancer care is getting worse and that cancer is currently being overlooked in the new NHS. The quantity of cancer patients is set to boost from two to 3 million by the end of the subsequent government in 2020, and we cannot afford to see much more and far more individuals waiting longer.”

Cancer waiting time figures reveal very first breach of target