Six systems pulled up by NHSE over poor cancer diagnosis performance

NHS England has demanded recovery plans from six systems with a poor record on delivering urgent cancer checks. 

NHS England has told the chief executives of the six integrated care boards they must “present and deliver a plan” to make more use of their diagnostic facilities for patients who need urgent cancer checks. The “facilities” referred to are all community diagnostic centres.

The six were selected because they diagnosed or ruled out fewer than 70% of urgent cancer referrals within 28 days during February. This benchmark is known as the “faster diagnostic standard”. 

A letter to the chief executives said: “improving waiting times for patients referred for urgent suspected cancer will be a critical priority for the NHS over the coming year”. It adds: “it is essential… our national investments in diagnostic capacity are more clearly prioritised for patients being investigated for urgent suspected cancer”.

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Source: HSJ, 28 April 2023