More than 27,000 people who were referred by their GPs were stuck in backlogs at the start of January, according to the NHS figures – a record last reached in June 2020.
Baroness Delyth Morgan, the chief executive at Breast Cancer Now said she was “deeply concerned” by the thresholds for the new target.
She said: “The Independent Cancer Taskforce [in 2015] recommended the ambition should be for 95 per cent of people to be diagnosed with cancer, or have cancer ruled out within 28 days of urgent referral by 2020.
“Yet the proposal is now to replace the current standard for 93 per cent of people with suspected cancer to be seen by a specialist within two weeks, with a target for 75 per cent of people receiving an outcome within 28 days.
“We fear that for breast cancer, this new target could fail in its aim to ensure those referred are seen and diagnosed sooner, especially as most people seen within two weeks of a breast cancer referral are already likely to be diagnosed or reassured well ahead of the 28-day deadline.”
Sajid Javid, who has promised to publish a 10-year cancer plan later this year, said the changes would “help us speed up diagnosis times and treatment, and save more lives.”
Trusts have already been told that 75 per cent of patients should be told whether or not they have cancer within 28 days of an urgent referral from their GP or a cancer screening programme. Latest performance statistics show 70 per cent.
Health chiefs launched a public consultation on Wednesday, proposing that the 28-day standard now becomes the chief way in which cancer services are measured.
When the idea was first proposed in 2015, health chiefs suggested that this should apply to 95 per cent of patients. But the current proposal does not set any threshold beyond the current one of 75 per cent.
Under the plan, the central standard will be backed by two further targets – a maximum two-month wait to first treatment from urgent GP referral or cancer screening, and a maximum one-month wait for any decision to treat until treatment actually starts.
Michelle Mitchell, the chief executive of Cancer Research UK, said: “The new Faster Diagnosis Standard is a more meaningful target than the current two-week wait that will hopefully improve early diagnosis.”
But she called on health officials to set a threshold of 95 per cent achievement when they publish a 10-year plan for cancer later this year.
Since the start of the pandemic, cancer targets have been repeatedly missed, with concern that there have been around 50,000 fewer cancer diagnoses since the first lockdown.
And new figures today are expected to show total numbers on waiting lists continue to rise, with more than six million waiting for treatment, and a host of missed targets for cancer treatment.
Proposals will ‘save more lives’
The Health Secretary said: “As part of our 10-Year Cancer Plan, we want to offer patients the best possible care and treatment. These proposals will help us speed up diagnosis times and treatment, and save more lives.
“The NHS wants to hear from as many people as possible – and is seeking advice from patients, staff and the public. Please, make your voices heard.”
Prof Peter Johnson, the national clinical director for cancer for NHS England, said: “We know that people having tests for possible cancer want to know the results quickly, and updating the standards to reflect this will help us to make sure we are able to deliver the best possible care.
“We are encouraging colleagues in NHS cancer services to share their views on the consultation to ensure we have standards that are better for people with cancer.”
Catherine Harper-Wynne, the chairman of the Breast Cancer Faster Diagnosis Group, said pilot schemes found that a higher proportion of patients had cancer ruled out sooner.
Officials said the first areas to test the standards found that as well as being diagnosed sooner, more patients with cancer started treatment within two months.
