With cancer care, whether this is a referral for investigations surrounding a suspected cancer diagnosis or for starting treatment after a diagnosis, time is of the essence. The NHS recognises this in its 3 core cancer waiting time standards, these being:

• 28 day Faster Diagnosis Standard – 75% of patients should have cancer diagnosed or ruled out within 28 days of an urgent referral
• 31 day Decision to Treat Standard – 96% of patients should receive their first definitive treatment within 31 days of a decision to treat being made
• 62 day Referral to Treatment Standard – 85% of patients should start their first treatment within 62 days of an urgent GP referral or consultant upgrade

These standards do not reflect the gold standard of care; they merely reflect what cancer care patients are reasonably entitled to expert but the reality is that many patients are not receiving this standard of care.

Recent data shows that almost all NHS Trusts failed to meet the target of 85% of patients starting cancer treatment within 62 days of referral. This central cancer performance target that has not been met nationally since 2014.

Only 3 of 199 Trusts met or exceeded this target for 2025, these being Calderdale and Huddersfield NHS Foundation Trust, Homerton Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust and Maidstone & Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust. This is a drop from 4 Trusts meeting the target in 2024. Even when the Government set an interim target to treat 75% of patients within the 62 day timeframe, in light of the issues caused by the pandemic, this was still only met by around 25% of NHS Trusts.

The worst performing trusts in respect of the 62 day treatment target were:

• Mid & South Essex NHS Foundation Trust – 45.4%
• Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust – 50.1%
• Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust – 53.1%

Nationally, 69.1 per cent of patients began cancer treatment within 62 days last year.

The NHS have responded to this by stating: ‘the NHS is seeing and treating record numbers of patients for cancer, with more than three quarters of people receiving a diagnosis or all clear within four weeks, but there are still too many people experiencing unacceptably long waits for their first treatment. Our landmark National Cancer Plan sets out a clear roadmap to ensuring we are meeting all three cancer standards to see and treat patients on time over the next three years, with further improvements to make care more personalised and significantly improve survival.’

Under the new National Cancer Plan, the aim is for patients to receive faster diagnosis, quicker treatment and the support to live well with cancer. The Plan, as published on 3 February 2026, set out that:

• 75% of patients diagnosed from 2035 will be cancer-free or living well after 5 years – currently, 60% of patients survive for 5 years or more
• The NHS is to meet all cancer waiting time standards by 2029 by way of:
  • £2.3 billion investment to deliver 9.5 million additional tests by 2029, investing in more scanners, digital technology and automated testing
  • Emphasis on community diagnostic centres, bringing testing closer to where people live
  • Development of new technology to give patients better access to tests by offering them the earliest available appointment from a range of NHS organisations in their local area
• There will be major expansion of robot-assisted surgery and faster diagnostics to slash delays by 2035
• The offering of genomic testing to every patient who would benefit, in order to analyse the DNA of their cancer and better understand the type of cancer and what treatments are most likely to work

Although this commitment is commendable, it will place significant demands on the NHS to follow through with these promises and it remains to be seen whether it will actually be achieved. In the meantime, patients continue to suffer the consequences of delayed diagnosis and treatment and some will pay the ultimate price.

We recognise that diagnosis of cancer is one of the most vulnerable and emotional times of a person’s life and it is made all the more challenging when there have been avoidable delays in diagnosis and treatment, which have resulted in a worse prognosis. If you or a loved one find yourself in this position, please call 01482 323697 to speak to our experienced clinical negligence team, or contact us via our online form, so that we can explore how we may be able to help.