Ministers face backlash if cancer waiting time targets are scrapped

Ministers faced a backlash last night after it emerged that cancer waiting time targets will be scrapped this week.

The health service says the changes will benefit patients, but campaigners warn that current performance against the indicators is ‘shockingly bad’ and described the move to abolish them as ‘deeply concerning’.

The pledges being scrapped include the urgent two-week referral from a GP for suspected cancer and a maximum two-week waiting period for breast cancer patients to see a specialist.

Health Secretary Steve Barclay will approve NHS England’s recommendations to reduce the number of targets from ten to three, The Sunday Times reported.

Many were missed and performance dropped during the Covid-19 pandemic.

According to the rules, 93 per cent of patients should see a consultant within two weeks of an urgent referral from their GP, but this has not been achieved consistently since 2018.

More than 418,000 patients waited longer for an appointment between October last year and June.

The NHS has set a target of 75% earlier diagnosis of cancer by 2028.

Professor Pat Price, a leading oncologist, chairman of Radiotherapy UK and co-founder of the Catch Up With Cancer campaign, said: ‘These are ominous and deeply disturbing rumours.

It smacks of ‘Yes Minister’, management says they are considering changing the targets now and completely blows the current ‘it’s all good and we’re on the right track’ narrative out of the water.

“Performance against current targets is appallingly poor and has been deteriorating for many, many months over the years.

“While we agree that chasing too many goals can be disruptive and divert resources from the main goal of the patient’s 62-day treatment, poor performance is not a result of how we measure it.

“The plain and simple truth is that we are not investing enough in cancer treatment capacity and getting the whole cancer pathway working.

“Without a radical new cancer plan, we will make only modest progress in detecting cancer patients more quickly, but then we will add those newly diagnosed patients to a long and potentially deadly waiting list for treatment.

“This is a path to continued bad outcomes, including unnecessary deaths.”

Health Secretary Steve Barclay (pictured) will endorse NHS England recommendations to reduce the number of targets from ten to three

The NHS is now expected to ensure that 75 per cent of patients have a diagnosis within 28 days or that everything is safe.

There will also be a maximum waiting time of 31 days for patients to start their first treatment and a target of 62 days for starting treatment after GP referral.

The ambition to treat 85 percent of patients within 62 days of referral by the GP was last achieved in December 2015.

Wes Streeting, the Labor shadow secretary, accused the government of moving the goalposts after years of failure.

He said: ‘The Conservatives have created a crisis in cancer care, putting patients on dangerously long waits.

“(Rishi) Sunak should focus on reducing waiting times, not lowering standards for patients.”