Strikes will make new cancer targets more difficult to meet, top medic warns

Exclusive: Old cancer targets ‘not the right thing; for patients, says NHS’ top cancer lead

Cancer wait times for June were published by NHS England on Thursday (Jeff Moore/PA) (PA Archive)

NHS strikes will make it much more difficult for hospitals to hit new flagship cancer targets, the health service’s cancer chief has warned.

As the NHS announces three new cancer waiting time targets to replace the current 10, Professor Peter Johnson has said “resolution” to industrial action is needed to tackle the backlog.

The new targets are for patients to have a diagnosis or cancer ruled out within 28 days; to start treatment within 31 days of a diagnosis; to start treatment within 62 days of referral.

Speaking exclusively with The Independent, Professor Johnson said old targets such as the requirement for patients to have a first appointment with a specialist within two weeks of referral “doesn’t feel like were doing the right thing for [patients]” as a person could be referred and seen by a specialist in two weeks but could wait another six or eight to get a test done.

“What we really want to do is make sure that not only are people being seen, but they’re getting the right tests and ride diagnostics,” he said.

“It’s not that the two-week wait wasn’t a really good idea when it was first introduced and it made a big difference to the way that people organise cancer referral services. But I think we need to move with the times and we need to embrace the new ways of helping people to get answers to the question as to whether or not they got cancer.”

When asked about whether strikes might put the new target of 28 days to diagnosis, which comes in in October, at risk he said: “I think it’s it makes it that much more difficult.

“Every time we lose our clinics, endoscopy lists, and operating lists that is people whose investigations and treatments need to be rescheduled. So, finding a solution to the industrial action is really important if we’re to maintain the momentum of reducing backlogs and improving performance.”

Earlier this week Labour accused the government of “moving the goalposts” by reducing the cancer targets.

However, Professor Johnson, said: “I’m not interested in moving goalposts or making things easier. What I’m interested in doing is what’s important to patients, making sure that we’ve got the NHS really focused on seeing people making sure they’ve got a diagnosis and if they have got cancer making sure they’ve got the treatment organised in a timely way.

“I don’t think anybody is comfortable with where we are at the moment in terms of the targets and we absolutely recognise that we have to do better.”

“I think it’s not trying to get away from the problem at all. It’s absolutely trying to address the problem head-on and make sure that we’re really focused on what we think are the important parts.”

Since the target to have 75 per cent of patients diagnosed or cancer rule out within 28 days was first trialled in April 2021 the NHS has struggled to hit it. Professor Johnson said he hopes to see improvements in cancer performance within the year under the new standards.

Under the new plans hospitals will have to hit this from October and from 2025-26 will have to achieve 80 per cent of patients being diagnosed within 28 days.

The announcements come after the NHS’ waiting list hit 7.5 million, despite Rishi Sunak’s promises to tackle the backlog.

When asked about future plans for the targets under any new governments, Professor Johnson said he hopes the targets will be retained for a “long time.”

“I hope that we will retain these standards for a long time we’ve had the existing cancer standards for more than a decade and so I think changing things quickly just causes confusion.”

The DHSC and BMA were approached for comment.