Cancer

Department of Health written question – answered at on 14 September 2017.

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Photo of Nicholas Dakin Nicholas Dakin Opposition Whip (Commons)

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to ensure cancer waiting time targets are met.

Photo of Steve Brine Steve Brine The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health

The National Health Service is meeting six out of eight cancer waiting times standards (June 2017) including ensuring that 93% of patients are seen within two weeks of an urgent general practitioner referral and that 96% of patients receive their first treatment for cancer within 31 days of diagnosis. This is despite 970,000 more people being urgently referred in 2016/17 compared to 2009/10 - an increase of 108%.

Achieving the 62-day cancer standard is a key objective in the Government’s Mandate to NHS England for 2017-18 and Next Steps on the NHS Five Year Forward View. NHS England and NHS Improvement are providing support and challenge to those trusts that need to improve their performance against this standard.

NHS England has confirmed £200 million of transformation funding to improve cancer services over the next two years. This includes encouraging local areas to find new and innovative ways to diagnose cancer earlier.

Cancer survival rates are at a record high and the NHS has estimated 7,000 more people are surviving cancer after successful NHS cancer treatment compared to three years ago.

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