NHS patients with suspected cancer will be diagnosed faster under new measures for treating the disease, Jeremy Hunt has announced.
The “more patient-centered” plans will mean that from 2020 patients
will be given a definitive cancer diagnosis leading to treatment, within 28 days of being referred by a GP.
The measure amends the previous target, which meant that patients
with suspected cancer must see a specialist within 14 days of being
referred by their GP. The investigation period that followed had no
limit. Health
experts believe the changes could save up to 11,000 lives a year.
Officials said the new standard will make sure that cancer services are
delivered more effectively around the needs of patients and their
families, by limiting the period of uncertainty and fear that arises
when people think they may have cancer. They said the target will be underpinned by an expected £300m more to be spent on diagnostics a year by 2020. Hunt, the health secretary,
said: “For people who are worried they may have cancer, waiting for that
all-important test result is a nerve-wracking time. We have a duty to
make sure this period of uncertainty is as short as possible. For those
who get the all-clear, they will have peace of mind sooner.“Those who sadly have cancer will get treatment much quicker and we will save thousands of lives as a result.”
The action follows a recommendation from the independent cancer
taskforce report, set up as part of the NHS’s five year forward view, to
examine how to improve cancer care and survival rates.
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