Four-week cancer diagnosis target

The Independent Cancer Taskforce has recommended that by 2020, 95% of patients should be given either the all-clear or a diagnosis within four weeks of a GP referral, potentially saving 11,000 lives a year.

The target will be trialed in five hospitals and if successful will be extended to run nationally.

Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt said that the UK is currently lagging behind other western European countries in terms of cancer survival rates and that these new measures will help to “close the gap”.

He said “We know that the biggest single factor that means that our cancer survival rates lag those of France, Germany and other European countries is that we have too much late diagnosis, we don’t get an answer to people quickly enough.”

He went on to say that he was making “a very simple promise to all NHS patients” that they would either be given the all-clear or a cancer diagnosis within 28 days by the year 2020.

He added that improving the speed of diagnosis would need more specialist nurses, cancer consultants, and staff trained in diagnostic tests and endoscopies.

The Department of Health has said that although it hoped to achieve the target, whether it would be possible would only be clear once the trials were completed.

Chairman of the Independent Cancer Taskforce and chief executive of Cancer Research UK, Harpal Kumar, said cancer diagnosing services were currently under intense pressure, and that extra staff and increased investment were vitally important.

Mr Kumar said “Introducing the 28-day ambition for patients to receive a diagnosis will maximise the impact of this investment which, together with making results online, will spare people unnecessary added anxiety and help cancer patients to begin treatment sooner.”

Macmillan Cancer Support’s Juliet Bouverie, said “We desperately need to see continued action from the government and the NHS to ensure that all the recommendations laid out in the recently published Cancer Strategy for England are fully funded and implemented.

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Posted by Tony May, Partner/head of Clinical Negligence Department, Chadwick Lawrence LLP (tonymay@chadlaw.co.uk ), Medical negligence lawyers and clinical negligence solicitors in Huddersfield, Leeds, Wakefield and Halifax, West Yorkshire.

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