Cutting waiting for diagnosis and treatment
5.1 Waiting for treatment of any kind is worrying and is often painful and debilitating. Waiting for diagnosis or treatment for cancer is also potentially lifethreatening.
The drive to end waiting in the NHS Plan is central to the Cancer Plan, which introduces new targets to cut waiting times for referral to diagnosis and diagnosis to treatment.
5.2 Many cancer patients already receive rapid diagnosis and treatment. Maximum two week waits for an outpatient appointment in urgent cases of suspected breast cancer have been in place since April 1999 and over 100,000 women have already benefited. The roll out of the two week maximum wait to all other urgent cases of suspected cancer will be complete by December 2000. Some 60% of breast cancer patients are already admitted for treatment within two weeks of the completion of diagnosis and the decision to go ahead with treatment.
5.3 But too many cancer patients still face waits for diagnosis and treatment. Patients in the UK tend to have more advanced disease by the time their treatment begins than their counterparts in other European countries. This is thought to explain at least some of the poorer survival rates seen for some cancers in the UK.
5.4 The NHS Plan allows us to make further inroads on waiting times for cancer services. Chapters 2 and 3 of the Cancer Plan set out action to help people recognise the signs and symptoms of cancer earlier and to strengthen and extend screening programmes. Chapter 4 sets out action to support GPs in identifying and referring rapidly those people who need expert assessment.
