What’s changing?
In England, the NHS are streamlining 10 existing standards into 3 key cancer waiting time standards with associated targets:
The 28-day Faster Diagnosis Standard (FDS)
The standard: People should have cancer ruled out or receive a diagnosis within 28 days
NHS target: 75% of people should meet this standard
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
The standard: People with cancer should begin treatment within two months (62 days) of an urgent referral
NHS target: 85% of people should meet this standard
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
The standard: People with cancer should begin their treatment within a month (31 days) of deciding to treat their cancer
NHS target: 96% of people should meet this standard
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 FDS.
We support this move, because the 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 we didn’t have 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.
– Naser Turabi, Director of Evidence and Implementation at Cancer Research UK
NHS England are also combining some other targets together to reduce the overall number of standards, including making more patients eligible for the headline 62-day standard by combining three previously separate targets.