A recent BBC review on NHS England data shows that only 3 trusts out of 121 Trusts in England are seeing, diagnosing and treating cancer patients within the recommended 62 days over the last 12 months. This means the other 118 Trusts are failing to hit the targets, resulting in delays for many patients and potentially resulting in progression of cancer.

It is extremely important for individuals to present to their GP with any symptoms that are cause for concern of a potential cancer diagnosis but it is then down the NHS Hospital Trusts receiving the suspected cancer referral to act promptly.

Cancer Research UK emphasises the importance of an early diagnosis, stating that it could result in cancer being diagnosed at an earlier stage, therefore meaning the likelihood of the cancer spreading is reduced and treatment may be different.

Medical research also shows the importance of an early diagnosis, confirming a delay in diagnosis and treatment of even four-weeks can reduce patient survival. This is why it is so crucial for Hospitals Trusts to ensure they are meeting the cancer time targets, to help reduce any mortality risks to patients. Mortality due to cancer treatment delay: systematic review and meta-analysis – PMC.

Many factors can cause the delay in diagnosis at the Hospital Trusts, such as referral letters from GPs to the Hospital becoming lost or not actioned swiftly due to backlog, there may be staffing issues at the Trust and therefore appointments become cancelled and rescheduled or even scanning and radiotherapy machines breaking down.

Government pledges on waiting times in relation to cancer are noted on the Handbook to the NHS Constitution for England – GOV.UK and NHS England » National cancer waiting times monitoring dataset guidance as follows:

• diagnose or rule out cancer within 28 days of urgent referral for 75% of cases
• a maximum one month (31-day) wait from a decision to treat, or earliest clinically appropriate date, to treatment of cancer for 96% of cases
• a maximum 2-month (62-day) wait from receipt of an urgent GP (or other referrer) referral for urgent suspected cancer or breast symptomatic referral, or urgent screening referral, or consultant upgrade, to first definitive treatment of cancer for 85% of cases

The BBC noted that nearly 1 in 4 trusts were not hitting the three main targets above over the last 12 months. They noted that NHS England update their data monthly but reviewed this over the last 12 months to note the decrease in hitting time targets for cancer diagnosis and treatment.

The three trusts achieving the 62-day target between September 2024 to August 2025 were Calderdale and Huddersfield, East and North Hertfordshire and Bolton NHS trusts. It is suggested that streamlined communication, state-of-the-art equipment and joined up team work appear to be the most important things to ensure diagnosis and treatment within the targeted timeframes. Find out where your local trust falls on the list for cancer wait times: Nearly all NHS hospitals are missing cancer targets – is yours one of them? – BBC News

Unfortunately, with delayed diagnosis and treatment, this can lead to a more serious outcome, such as more extensive treatment, and can even result in a cancer that would have been curable become incurable. At Williamsons Solicitors, we have significant experience in delayed cancer diagnosis and treatment, and we appreciate how difficult this can be for individuals and their families. If you or a loved one have suffered a delay in a diagnosis of cancer and / or treatment, please contact our Medical Negligence team on 01482 323697 to discuss how we can help.