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Cancer Waiting Times
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Cancer Waiting Times Statistics

Cancer Waiting Times: England

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Archive Data

Quarter 1 2008/2009

This web-site provides information on the waiting times of patients with suspected cancer and those subsequently diagnosed with cancer at NHS Trusts in England.

The Cancer Plan states that the government believes the ultimate goal should be to "offer patients a maximum one month wait from an urgent referral for suspected cancer to the beginning of treatment. Where patients wait longer, this should be because of the needs of the diagnostic process or their personal choice, not because of in-built delays in the system of care." "we hope to acheive this goal by 2008"

The collection of this data enables the Department of Health to regularly monitor progress against the NHS Cancer Plan.
 
The Trusts listed in the progress reports include all those who we expect to treat some cancer patients in a year. Some specialist trusts treat very few cancer patients, and will not necessarily report patients treated in every quarter.

For further information on this data e- mail DCVA-PPRT@dh.gsi.gov.uk

Please note: Q1 2008/09 data for University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Trust are partial due to incomplete submission of data - however results are still representative and unlikely to have a significant effect on reporting overall performance.

From Q2 2005-2006 onwards there has been a change in the way the referral to treatment figures are calculated at Trust level. Where two NHS organisations (Cancer Unit and Cancer Centre) are involved in the care of the patient this is taken into account by recording half the activity against the unit that initially sees the patient and half against the centre that provides the first definitive treatment. In the past all the activity was recorded against the centre that provided the first definitive treatment.

This change means that figures for Trusts on referral to treatment in Q1 2005-06 are not comparable with Q3 2005-06 figures. However the National figures are still comparable.

The England figures are for all patients resident in the UK who were treated in English NHS Trusts. Responsibility for treating a small number of patients may be shared with Trusts within the devolved administrations. Whilst non-English Trusts are excluded from tables, activity in these Trusts has been included in the England figures.

Cancer Waiting Times - Monitoring the 'Two week' target wait from urgent GP referral to first outpatient appointment for all patients with suspected cancer.
 
Data can be viewed in a number of different ways:
 
or by Cancer Site :