Improving the wait for cancer care - Healthwatch England

What did you tell us about cancer care?

You shared worrying experiences with us that suggested a lot still needs to happen to make sure cancer is flagged at the earliest opportunity and pathways to diagnosis and treatment are as smooth as possible.

• 45% of respondents said they weren't referred for suspected cancer at the first appointment.
• 28% of respondents had to wait up to a month after their first appointment to be told they were being referred. 
• One in ten cancer referrals don’t directly progress to a hospital appointment, with some referrals rejected, lost or otherwise not booked.

What changes did we call for?

We urged NHS England to tackle these issues and to understand the importance of seeing the person behind the cancer. Recommendations from our work included:

• NHS England must support teams to improve GP access so people can get the referrals they need.
• First appointments must work for patients, allowing them to choose the type, time, place and healthcare professional.
• Communications must be accessible.
• NHS England must improve online referral trackers and give patients access.

What difference did this make?

NHS England took our recommendations seriously and announced a new plan to simplify the care timeline.

This new plan will give patients a better understanding of what timelines they can expect during their cancer treatment journey.

NHS England had listened to our recommendations that they needed to focus more on the issues that are important to patients, and have directly addressed this. At the same time, they cut the target waiting time for cancer care to try and ensure people get treatment faster.