Cancer referrals: NHS trusts routinely failing to hit urgent target - how long are patients waiting?

The number of hospitals failing to hit the national target for cancer referrals is the highest it has been for at least three years, data examined by the PA news agency shows. In England, the maximum waiting time for a hospital appointment for suspected cancer is two weeks from the day the hospital receives a referral letter from a GP.

Some 93% of patients should be seen within this timeframe, according to the NHS in England, but new analysis of data from August 2019 to August 2022 shows this target is routinely not being met. The data includes 117 trusts in England for whom there is complete data for the last three years.

The 12-month rolling average for the number of trusts not hitting the target currently stands at 84 out of 117, which is nearly three quarters (72%) of the 117 trusts and includes three that have never reached this target during the three years. They are University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust, Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, and North Middlesex University Hospital NHS Trust. All have been contacted for comment by the PA news agency.

Trusts that have not met the target for more than two years include West Suffolk, which last hit the target in December 2019, and Leeds Teaching Hospitals, which last reached it in March 2020. Princess Alexandra Hospital in Essex, Worcestershire Acute Hospitals and Oxford University Hospitals have not reached the target since May 2020. North-West Anglia, Norfolk & Norwich University Hospitals, United Lincolnshire Hospitals and Country Durham & Darlington all achieved the target for just one month out of 37.

Meanwhile, the data shows that the best performing trusts are Calderdale & Huddersfield, East Kent Hospitals University and Portsmouth Hospitals University, which have never missed their operational standard of 93%. Medway Trust has also consistently hit its target since May 2020 and Birmingham Women’s & Children’s Trust has hit it every month since August 2020.

Naser Turabi, director of evidence and implementation at Cancer Research UK, told PA that any cancer waiting times target that is missed is “unacceptable”.

Mr Turabi added that the target should be a “minimum standard” and “the fact that it is now not being met just goes to show how strained our health service has become”.

An NHS spokesperson said: “In order to fully recover from the pandemic, GPs are now referring 20% more patients every day than before the pandemic, which is good news as it will mean more people will get checked and diagnosed earlier.

“The NHS is investing billions to expand diagnostic treatment capacity to meet this extra demand, and has written to trusts with the longest backlogs asking them to urgently set out plans to reduce cancer waits – helping them redesign their care to keep up with increased demand.”