Hospitals are now being asked to work towards a 10-day turnaround when delivering diagnostic test results to patients who have received an urgent referral for suspected cancer, as part of new plans to see and treat people for cancer as early as possible.
This means hundreds of patients waiting to have cancer ruled out or diagnosed in some cases, are set to receive this news faster, helping to relieve anxieties or enabling treatment to start sooner.
In a letter sent to local health areas, NHS leaders are also asking teams to prioritise diagnostic tests like MRI scans for cancer in community diagnostic centres (CDCs) or to free up capacity for these cancer tests within hospitals by moving elective activity into the centres.
In February the NHS achieved the faster diagnosis standard for suspected cancer for the first time, with three quarters of those referred receiving a definitive diagnosis or all clear within 28 days – over 170,000 people (171,453) – ahead of the March 2024 target.
These ambitious plans also come on the back of significant progress in reducing the number of people waiting longest for treatment or to have their cancer ruled out – having brought the 62-day backlog down by almost 15,000 patients since the summer (19,027 on 19 March 2023 compared with 33,950 on 19 September 2022).
NHS staff have worked incredibly hard to bring down the backlog at the same time as managing consistently high demand for cancer services over the last two years – with up to one in four GP referrals a month for cancer, thanks to the success of public awareness campaigns and early diagnosis drives.
This would not have been possible without new diagnostic capacity made available through community diagnostic centres (CDCs) – with 105 now open and offering a ‘one-stop shop’ for tests and checks in local areas close to people’s homes.
Dame Cally Palmer, NHS National Director for Cancer, said: “It is a testament to the hard work of NHS staff that we are seeing and treating record numbers of patients for cancer, and have made significant progress bringing down the backlog and achieving the target for diagnosing three quarters of people within 28 days – all despite huge demand and pressures on the system. Fortunately, the vast majority of suspected cancer patients waiting for a diagnostic test will not have cancer, but for those waiting it can be a very anxious time, so we are asking trusts to aim for a ten day turnaround time between GP referral and tests results for patients – so we can get people the all-clear faster, or in some cases ensure patients diagnosed with cancer are able to start treatment sooner.”
“Lives are saved when cancers are caught early and while we’re already diagnosing a higher proportion of cancers at an earlier stage than ever before – we want to ensure we’re making the absolute most of the diagnostic capacity in our community centres and hospitals.”
Professor Mike Osborn, President of the Royal College of Pathologists, said: “We welcome the announcement of support for pathology services which will help our members provide the quicker diagnoses that patients need. Pathologists have long asked for improvements in digital pathology and infrastructure to help them provide better patient care. We fully support this initiative and the fresh focus on pathology which it should provide will, we hope, make a real difference to patients.”