You might have seen the headlines about changes to cancer waiting time targets in England. But what are cancer waiting times and what do the changes mean for people with cancer?
Cancer waiting times provide important data on how long it takes for people to be seen by a specialist, receive a diagnosis and get treated for cancer by the NHS.
𝐅𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝟏𝐬𝐭 𝐎𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐛𝐞𝐫 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟑 – 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭’𝐬 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐠?
In England, the NHS are streamlining 10 existing standards into 3 key cancer waiting time standards with associated targets.
𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝟑 𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐠𝐞𝐭𝐬?
→ The 28-day Faster Diagnosis Standard (FDS) – People should have cancer ruled out or receive a diagnosis within 28 days
Who does it apply to?
People who have been urgently referred:
• by a GP for suspected cancer
• following an abnormal cancer screening result
• by a GP for breast symptoms (where cancer is not suspected)
→ 62-day referral to treatment standard – People with cancer should begin treatment within two months (62 days) of an urgent referral
Who does it apply to?
People with cancer who have been urgently referred:
• by a GP for suspected cancer
• following an abnormal cancer screening result
• By a consultant who suspects cancer following other investigations (also known as ‘upgrades’)
→ 31-day decision to treat to treatment standard – People with cancer should begin their treatment within a month (31 days) of deciding to treat their cancer
Who does it apply to?
• Anyone who has been diagnosed with cancer, including people who have cancer which has returned.
𝐖𝐡𝐲 𝐝𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐨𝐥𝐝 𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐠𝐞𝐭𝐬 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐞𝐝?
NHS England are retiring one cancer waiting times target, the 2 Week Wait (2WW), which aims for people with suspected cancer to see a specialist within 14 days of being urgently referred by their GP or a cancer screening programme, and replacing it with the Faster Diagnosis Standard (FDS)
2WW doesn’t set expectations for how long someone will wait to have any tests they need, for the test results to come back, and for them to be told whether or not they have cancer.
Seeing a specialist is only the first step, and before the introduction of the FDS, important information on when people had cancer diagnosed or ruled out wasn’t captured, meaning that there wasn’t a clear idea how long getting a diagnosis actually took. In particular, the FDS benefits those people who don’t have cancer but may have experienced delays in being told definitively that it has been ruled out.
The reported changes to waiting time targets for England will be helpful for people affected by cancer. The shift to the Faster Diagnosis Standard – moving from ten cancer waiting time targets to three, should set clearer expectations for patients about when they should receive a diagnosis or have their cancer ruled out.
For more information: https://www.england.nhs.uk/…/stat…/cancer-waiting-times/