New cancer target ambitions must be matched with resources

Responding to new NHS cancer targets to speed up diagnosis and treatment Danny Mortimer, deputy chief executive of NHS Confederation, said:

“Given the need to simplify and prioritise targets in the NHS, healthcare leaders will welcome this proposal to focus cancer targets on these three logical and complimentary areas, that really zero in on identifying, diagnosing and treating cancer more rapidly.

“The focus on rapid diagnostics will give patients more certainty faster, reducing the time they spend anxiously waiting for results, and this earlier assessment should help improve outcomes.

“Under the current two-week standard, a person could get the required referral to a specialist in 14 days but might still spend several more weeks going to different appointments and tests, so a clearer timescale for diagnosis is sensible.

“Trusts are already doing everything in their power to get cancer waits down and are now seeing the highest recorded levels of referrals and treatment for cancer, but despite this the bigger picture is one of a health service struggling due to capacity issues, with cancer treatment rates still some way from the operational standard.

“So while a greater clarity of focus will be welcomed by health leaders, changing the targets alone will not be enough to see improvement; delivery against these new targets will require the health service to have the appropriate resources and infrastructure.

“Health leaders will want to see these renewed ambitions for cancer diagnosis and treatment matched with financial backing for cancer services and the NHS to repair and expand its estate, improve the bed base, and rapidly get more staff into the service.

“Our members are open to new ways of working so they will also be intrigued by the government’s proposed idea of patients going directly to an NHS diagnostic centre rather than via their GP. This is not currently an option, and whilst it is interesting, we should not raise patients expectations about a service that is not currently available.”