Cancer Outcome Targets 2023-07-11
2023-07-11
TAGS
Response quality
Questions & Answers
Q1
Direct Answer
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Context
Section 5 of the Health and Care Act 2022 mandates specific actions for improving cancer patient outcomes. The question arises from concerns about whether these provisions are being adequately addressed.
What steps is the government taking to implement section 5 of the Health and Care Act 2022, which sets out objectives to improve cancer patient outcomes?
In accordance with section 5 of the Health and Care Act 2022, the Secretary of State's mandate to NHS England sets out objectives to improve outcomes for cancer patients, including aims to enhance one-year and five-year survival rates.
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Assessment & feedback
Response accuracy
Q2
Partial Answer
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Context
There is a concern that the focus during consultations on the NHS mandate might shift from hard objectives, such as cancer survival rates, to softer measures like patient experience surveys.
How can the Government ensure that when consulting on the NHS mandate, there is an emphasis on outcomes like one-year survival rate rather than being diluted by other metrics?
My hon. Friend's commitment to focusing on cancer outcomes has been included in the NHS mandate, as I mentioned earlier. The emphasis is on early diagnosis metrics and other important patient experience metrics.
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Assessment & feedback
The question asked for a guarantee of focus on hard objectives like one-year survival rate but the answer only acknowledged inclusion without committing to prioritization over softer objectives.
We Are Focused So Much On Increasing Early Diagnosis
Response accuracy
Q3
Partial Answer
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Context
There are concerns about delays in the patient journey from GP referral to hospital treatment, impacting cancer diagnosis and treatment efficiency.
What measures is the Minister taking to speed up the process from GP referrals to consultant appointments and subsequent treatments?
One reason for our focus on early diagnosis is because we know it improves cancer survival rates. The NHS has seen improvements, with one-year survival rates increasing from two thirds to three quarters since 2010. We have also reduced the number of patients waiting over 62 days since the pandemic by more than a third.
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Assessment & feedback
The question asked for specific measures addressing delays but the answer focused on general improvements in early diagnosis and survival rates without mentioning steps to reduce waiting times specifically.
We Are Seeing Improvements In Cancer Survival
One Reason Why We Are Focused So Much On Increasing Early Diagnosis
Response accuracy