Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

Cancer Outcome Targets

Tuesday 11 July 2023 · 3 questions

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Answered 1 Partly answered 2 Not answered 0

Key points

  • Government is implementing section 5 of the Health and Care Act 2022 to improve cancer patient outcomes.
  • Commitment to focusing on cancer outcomes like one-year survival rate is included in the NHS mandate.
  • NHS has seen improvements in one-year survival rates, increasing from two thirds to three quarters since 2010.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 John Baron Con
NHS
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.

Question

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?

Answer from Helen Whately

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.

Answered
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Q2 John Baron Con
NHS
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.

Question

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?

Answer from Helen Whately

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.

Partly answered

Not addressed: 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.

How: We Are Focused So Much On Increasing Early Diagnosis

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Q3 Derek Twigg Lab Widnes and Halewood
NHS
Context

There are concerns about delays in the patient journey from GP referral to hospital treatment, impacting cancer diagnosis and treatment efficiency.

Question

What measures is the Minister taking to speed up the process from GP referrals to consultant appointments and subsequent treatments?

Answer from Helen Whately

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.

Partly answered

Not addressed: 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.

How: We Are Seeing Improvements In Cancer Survival, One Reason Why We Are Focused So Much On Increasing Early Diagnosis

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