Health written question – answered at on 6 May 2014.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health
(1) what progress his Department has made on diagnosis rates of brain tumours in the last 10 years; and if he will make a statement;
(2) what recent assessment he has made of the sufficiency of access to imagery scanning for diagnosing brain tumours; and if he will issue revised guidance on when to refer a patient for a scan with the aim of raising diagnosis rates and decreasing mortality rates.
“Improving Outcomes: A Strategy for Cancer”, published on
In 2012, the Department published “Direct Access to Diagnostic Tests for Cancer, Best Practice Referral Pathways for General Practitioners”. The document includes criteria for accessing key diagnostic tests, including MRI brain scan, and aims to raise awareness of the symptoms that require urgent referral to specialists and sets out where a direct referral for an MRI brain scan may benefit patients through achieving a faster diagnosis. GPs are able to access these tests directly in cases where the two- week urgent referral pathway is not appropriate but a patient’s symptoms require further investigation. The intention is that more people presenting with relevant symptoms will be tested and at an earlier stage.
NHS England monitors the use of these diagnostic tests through the Diagnostic Imaging Dataset. Latest provisional data published by NHS England on
Information on diagnosis rates of brain tumours is not centrally collected. Information on the number of patients with suspected brain or central nervous system tumours who were seen by a specialist within two weeks from a GP referral is provided in the attached tables, for the last 10 years.
Before 2009, the operational standard for two-week waits was 98%. Starting from the 1 of January 2009, the basis for reporting waiting times data was changed. The new standards were set to be more in line with the already implemented referral to treatment routes. The scope of cover for the new standards was widened (as set out in the Cancer Reform Strategy 2008), and the collection was made simpler by not using clock pauses. From 2009 onwards the operational standard for two- week waits was set to 93% (assumed to be the maximum sustainable performance level) including tolerances for:
The number of patients who make themselves unavailable or decline an appointment within two weeks.
Patients who cancel a booked out-patient appointment (giving advance notice), and rebook appointments outside of 14 days.
Information on number of patients with suspected brain or central nervous system tumours who were seen by a specialist within two weeks from a GP referral for the last 10 years (pre reporting waiting times data change).
Quarter | Patients seen | Within 14 days | Percentage seen within 14 days | |
2003-04 | Q4 | 393 | 390 | 98.4 |
2004-05 | Q1 | 427 | 420 | 98.4 |
Q2 | 547 | 537 | 98.2 | |
Q3 | 587 | 583 | 99.3 | |
Q4 | 514 | 505 | 98.2 | |
2005-06 | Q1 | 579 | 574 | 99.1 |
Q2 | 575 | 572 | 99.5 | |
Q3 | 647 | 641 | 99.1 | |
Q4 | 598 | 594 | 99.3 | |
2006-07 | Q1 | 657 | 653 | 99.4 |
Q2 | 662 | 657 | 99.2 | |
Q3 | 887 | 882 | 99.4 | |
Q4 | 770 | 769 | 99.9 | |
2007-08 | Q1 | 829 | 825 | 99.5 |
Q2 | 802 | 799 | 99.6 | |
Q3 | 867 | 865 | 99.8 | |
Q4 | 863 | 857 | 99.3 | |
2008-09 | Q1 | 867 | 862 | 99.4 |
Q2 | 1,024 | 1,020 | 99.6 | |
Q3 | 972 | 969 | 99.7 |
Information on the number of patients with suspected brain or central nervous system tumours who were seen by a specialist within two weeks from a GP referral for the last 10 years (post reporting waiting times data change)
Quarter | Patients seen | Within 14 days | Percentage seen within 14 days | |
2008-09 | Q4 | 930 | 893 | 96.0 |
2009-10 | Q1 | 1,018 | 964 | 94.7 |
Q2 | 1,132 | 1,102 | 97.3 | |
Q3 | 1,169 | 1,130 | 96.7 | |
Q4 | 1,156 | 1,119 | 96.8 | |
2010-11 | Q1 | 1,192 | 1,156 | 97.0 |
Q2 | 1,225 | 1,191 | 97.2 | |
Q3 | 1,236 | 1,191 | 96.4 | |
Q4 | 1,203 | 1,178 | 97.9 | |
2011-12 | Q1 | 1,316 | 1,276 | 97.0 |
Q2 | 1,430 | 1,390 | 97.2 | |
Q3 | 1,533 | 1,482 | 96.7 | |
Q4 | 1,513 | 1,468 | 97.0 | |
2012-13 | Q1 | 1,386 | 1,325 | 95.6 |
Q2 | 1,513 | 1,470 | 97.2 | |
Q3 | 1,711 | 1,665 | 97.3 | |
Q4 | 1,651 | 1,579 | 95.6 | |
2013-14 | Q1 | 1,795 | 1,730 | 96.4 |
Q2 | 1,760 | 1,699 | 96.5 | |
Q3 | 1,921 | 1,861 | 96.9 | |
Source: Cancer waiting times database |
Yes1 person thinks so
No0 people think not
Would you like to ask a question like this yourself? Use our Freedom of Information site.