Patients are set to benefit from more timely healthcare as NHS professionals are tasked with delivering a 10-day turnaround for either diagnosing or ruling out suspected cancers.
The plans mean that people will get news faster which will either help put patients at ease or enable them to start their requisite treatment sooner.
Health leaders have also asked staff to either prioritise cancer screening in community diagnostic centres or free up capacity for such cancer tests to be performed at hospitals by taking on elective activity.
This comes as the health service achieved the faster diagnosis standard for suspected cancer for the first time in February. Figures showed that three quarters of the people who were referred received either a diagnosis or an all-clear within 28 days.
Chief Executive at Cancer 52, Jane Lyons, said: “For the vast majority of patients whose tests show they don’t have cancer, ending what is a spell of extreme anxiety sooner will be a great relief, and for the roughly seven in 100 who are diagnosed with cancer, moving on from that period of uncertainty to being able to discuss next steps with doctors as quickly as possible is crucial.
“When we know record levels of people are being sent by their GPs for cancer tests, it’s good to see the NHS making clear these patients need to be prioritised.”
The new guidelines follow progress in cancer backlogs with the number of people waiting longest for treatment or the all-clear being cut by almost 15,000 since last September.
Data also shows that, between March 2022 and February 2023, 470,000 more people got checked for cancer compared to pre-pandemic levels.
National Cancer Director at NHS England, Dame Cally Palmer, added: “It is a testament to the hard work of NHS staff that we are seeing and treating record numbers of patients for cancer, and have made significant progress bringing down the backlog and achieving the target for diagnosing three quarters of people within 28 days – all despite huge demand and pressures on the system.
“Fortunately, the vast majority of suspected cancer patients waiting for a diagnostic test will not have cancer, but for those waiting it can be a very anxious time, so we are asking trusts to aim for a ten day turnaround time between GP referral and tests results for patients – so we can get people the all-clear faster, or in some cases ensure patients diagnosed with cancer are able to start treatment sooner.”
