Cancer targets are set to be “merged” rather than eliminated, asserted a health minister today. The National Health Service (NHS) plans to implement three targets focused on faster patient treatment and diagnosis, reducing the current assessment measures from 10. Will Quince, working under Health Secretary Steve Barclay, emphasized that this decision aligned with the NHS in Wales, which adopted a similar approach in 2018. The Conservative Party criticized the Labour-run health service in Wales, highlighting its poor performance as evidence of their lack of trustworthiness in England.
These changes have sparked significant backlash due to concerns about the removal of seven cancer targets. Commitments being scrapped include the two-week urgent referral from a general practitioner (GP) for suspected cancer and the maximum two-week wait for breast-cancer patients to see a specialist. The revised targets aim for 75% of patients to receive a diagnosis or all-clear within 28 days, with a maximum 31-day wait for treatment commencement and a 62-day target for treatment initiation after a GP referral. The current assessment includes ten separate cancer time targets, focusing on expedited patient assessment, early disease detection, and prompt treatment initiation.
Recent data analysis revealed that patients in Wales wait an average of five weeks longer for NHS treatment compared to those in England. The decision to eliminate the seven cancer targets has sparked concern among campaigners, who consider the existing performance against these indicators shockingly poor. However, the health service argues that the changes will ultimately benefit patients by expediting diagnoses and improving survival rates. The eliminated targets include the two-week urgent referral and the rapid specialist consultation for breast-cancer patients. Since 2018, the NHS in England has consistently failed to achieve the target of 93% of patients seeing a consultant within two weeks of an urgent GP referral.
The changes proposed will focus on outcome improvement and reduced bureaucratic processes, according to Mr. Quince. He clarified that the government did not lead this initiative, but rather it was driven by NHS England, oncologists, clinicians, and cancer charities. The intention is to merge the targets into three, with the goal of enhancing outcomes and streamlining the process for healthcare professionals. Stakeholders such as NHS England and oncologists argue that concentrating on three targets, including faster diagnosis, will result in expedited diagnoses. Mr. Quince also noted that the NHS in Wales adopted a similar approach in 2018.
Under the revised framework, the NHS will strive to achieve a 75% diagnostic rate or all-clear within 28 days, with a maximum 31-day wait for treatment commencement and a 62-day target for treatment initiation after a GP referral. Sir Keir Starmer, the leader of the Labour Party, accused the government of altering cancer targets without ensuring their achievement. He emphasized the necessity of swifter diagnoses and the importance of a future-proof healthcare system, which he believes is currently lacking in the UK. The audit conducted by MailOnline revealed that 27 NHS trusts have never met the most recent cancer target established in 2021.
Medical advancements and early detection initiatives, such as pop-up diagnostic centers, have significantly improved cancer survival rates over the past five decades. Previously, only 25% of men diagnosed with prostate cancer in the 1970s would survive the next decade, whereas today, 75% of men diagnosed with the disease live for over ten years. However, Cancer Research UK predicts that the number of cancer cases will increase from 384,000 per year to 506,000 in 2040 if current trends continue. The UK’s death rate surpasses that of many European countries, and it is projected to rise by nearly a quarter, from 167,000 to 208,000, during the same period. The charity warns that the NHS could become overwhelmed by the increasing number of cancer diagnoses if preventable causes like obesity are not addressed and the healthcare workforce is not adequately trained.
It is important to note that cancer is no longer a guaranteed fatal illness, as significant medical breakthroughs have increased survival rates. Over the last 50 years, survival rates have significantly improved. For instance, in the 1970s, only one in four men diagnosed with prostate cancer would survive the next decade. But today, 75% of men with prostate cancer live for over ten years.
It is worth mentioning that the wait time for routine care, not related to cancer, is around 19 weeks in Wales and 14 weeks in England. The median wait time for treatment after referral in England was 14.3 weeks in June, while in Wales, it was 19.1 weeks in May. Sir Keir commended the Welsh government for their performance but recognized waiting times as an issue. Health Secretary Steve Barclay wrote to Welsh and Scottish ministers expressing openness to requests for their patients to receive treatment within the NHS in England due to record wait times in the devolved nations.
Although the NHS claims that the changes will benefit patients, campaigners express deep concerns about the current poor performance against the indicators. An analysis by MailOnline revealed England’s cancer crisis, with only one out of over 120 hospitals meeting the four largest cancer time targets in 2023. Charities attribute this crisis to declining staff numbers and the lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. NHS officials maintain that, despite the performance decline, they are treating more patients than ever in the battle against cancer. The number of urgent referrals has doubled.
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