UK: NHS to Reduce Cancer Wait Time Targets

Facts

• The UK's National Health Service (NHS) is expected to reduce the number of cancer waiting time targets from nine to three, so as to help patients in England with the disease be diagnosed earlier.¹
• The three targets are reportedly: receiving a cancer diagnosis within 28 days of referral, starting treatment within two months of an urgent referral, and starting treatment one month after a decision to treat.²
• The six targets which have been dropped include a maximum two-week wait for a first consultation and a maximum two-month wait from the urgent GP referral to the first cancer treatment.³
• According to the latest figures, only 59% of patients began their treatment within the two-month window, falling short of the 85% target, while only 62% visited a doctor within two months of a positive cancer test, compared with the 90% target.³
• The NHS argues that, by replacing the "outdated" standards, hundreds of patients can be referred "straight to test." The organization has also referenced the possibilities afforded by the broader use of diagnostic technologies like artificial intelligence.⁴
• Health secretary Steve Barclay claims the changes, reportedly backed by clinical specialists, would be made "in consultation with the leading cancer charities."⁵

Sources: ¹Times, ²Huffington Post, ³The Guardian, ⁴BBC News, and ⁵FT.

Narratives

• Right narrative, as provided by Chronicle Live. These changes are a big step forward in clearing the cancer backlog, as patients now have a better understanding of what the treatment regime for cancer will entail. The prior two-week consultation aim didn't include receiving a positive diagnosis or test, making it a cosmetic goal. As the plethora of targets was confusing and unhelpful, the Tory government's much-needed overhaul could help save lives.
• Left narrative, as provided by The Telegraph. Fiddling with the metrics can't mask the damage years of Conservative austerity have wreaked on the NHS. The UK has failed to meet its cancer targets for years, and the prognosis for British cancer patients has dropped precipitously. In the face of the biggest crisis in cancer care in its history, the NHS needs an infusion of investment and a reworked structure, not a fixation on easily manipulated, PR-friendly statistics that have no bearing on the quality of treatment cancer patients receive.

Predictions