Published on 22 March 2022
Can you give the NHS your views on the proposed new standards that will help diagnose more cancers earlier
and save more lives?
The NHS is asking for feedback on the new standards, which would mean people can expect to be told whether or not they have cancer within 28 days of an urgent referral from their GP or a cancer screening programme – instead of the current standard of seeing a specialist within 14 days, with no measurement of when someone should be told the result.
Developed with clinical leaders, the proposals – supported by NHS staff as well as patient groups and cancer charities – aims to simplify and update cancer standards, based on the recommendations of the Independent Cancer Taskforce.
Patients, clinicians, other NHS staff and the public are being to share their views on the proposed standards over the next few weeks.
You can read the review of the standards here: https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/clinically-led-review-of-nhs-cancer-standards-models-of-care-and-measurement/
Fill in the survey here: https://nhs.researchfeedback.net/s.asp?k=164370899043 or email: or email england.reviewofstandards@nhs.net.
Cancer currently has a complex set of nine separate performance standards, with different targets covering different routes into the system, for example, screening or a GP referral.
The new plan proposes ensuring patients have the same opportunity for faster diagnosis and treatment, including:
- The 28-day faster diagnosis standard, which would see patients who have been urgently referred, have breast symptoms, or have been picked up through screening, have cancer ruled out or receive a diagnosis within 28 days.
- A 62-day referral to treatment standard, meaning patients who receive a cancer diagnosis will start treatment within nine weeks from the date of referral.
- A 31-day decision to treat to treatment standard, so that cancer patients receive their first treatment within a month of a decision to treat following diagnosis.
These new standards aim to make diagnosis and treatment timelines easier to understand for people with suspected cancer and their families, while also helping to diagnose cancers earlier and save more lives.
Before the faster diagnosis standard was introduced, access standards for cancer have remained unchanged since 2009. The current two-week wait target sets no expectation of when patients should receive test results or actually get a confirmed diagnosis.
Dame Cally Palmer, NHS National Director for Cancer, said: “Access standards have been key to improving timeliness of treatment for people with cancer since they were first introduced in 2000.
“As we see advances in diagnosis and treatments for cancer, it is only right that these standards are modernised – so that we can ensure patients are diagnosed more quickly and are given the treatment they need as soon as possible, helping us save even more lives.”