Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

Cancer Diagnoses

Tuesday 21 October 2025 · 2 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 1 Not answered 0

Key points

  • Dr Lauren Sullivan asked about steps being taken to reduce time for cancer diagnoses, citing a case of delayed diagnosis.
  • The Minister responded by acknowledging the seriousness of cancer detection in general practice and mentioned the launch of Jess's rule.
  • Mr Louie French inquired about steps to reduce NHS waiting times, questioning funding cuts for community diagnostic centres.
  • The Minister thanked Mr French but corrected his statement, asserting the opening of more CDCs than ever before.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Lauren Sullivan Lab Gravesham
NHS
Context

A local teacher was misdiagnosed with facial tumour symptoms as effects of age, leading to a two-year delay in receiving a confirmed cancer diagnosis. This includes eight months after an urgent referral.

Question

What steps are being taken by the Department to reduce the time taken for cancer diagnoses? A local teacher went to her GP with clear symptoms of a facial tumour but was told it was simply the effects of age. It took almost two years to receive a confirmed diagnosis, including eight months lost in the system after an urgent referral. Does the Minister agree that reducing times for cancer diagnosis must start with strengthening systems to support early recognition and follow-up, so that no one is left waiting?

Answer from The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health and Social Care (Ashley Dalton)

I thank my hon. Friend for her question and her well wishes. We are taking cancer detection seriously in general practice, and there is work to do. It is why we have recently launched Jess’s rule, which is a patient safety initiative that means when patients return three times with worsening or undiagnosed symptoms, GPs must reflect, review and rethink. That could include a second opinion, episodic continuity of care or ordering additional tests.

Answered
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Q2 Louie French Con Old Bexley and Sidcup
NHS
Context

The Government claim to reduce NHS waiting times but have slashed funding for community diagnostic centres. Consequences include a brand new facility at Queen Mary’s hospital in Sidcup, which can now open only two days per week due to Labour's funding cuts.

Question

What steps are being taken by the Department to reduce NHS waiting times? The Government claim that they wish to reduce NHS waiting times, but I have written confirmation from the Government that they have slashed funding for community diagnostic centres. The consequences of Labour’s funding cuts mean that brand new facilities, such as those at Queen Mary’s hospital in Sidcup, for which I secured £9.6 million of funding from the last Conservative Government, can now open only two days per week. Will the Minister urgently review that funding cut, so that more patients in Bexley and across the UK can get their diagnostics quicker?

Answer from The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health and Social Care (Ashley Dalton)

I thank the hon. Gentleman for his question, but I think he might be mistaken. We are opening more CDCs than ever before—I have lost count of the amount of CDCs we have been invited to open—and we are making sure that people have access to diagnostics in their community, from hospital to community, with the most access that there has been for some years.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The Minister did not directly address the funding cut and instead highlighted efforts to open more CDCs.

How: I Think He Might Be Mistaken

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