Cancer: Thames Valley
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to reduce waiting times for the (a) diagnosis and (b) treatment of cancer in teenagers and young adults in the Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and West Berkshire Integrated Care Board area.
Answered by Andrew Gwynne
We are committed to getting the National Health Service diagnosing cancer earlier and treating it faster, so that more patients survive, including children, teenagers, and young adults.
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence has set out detailed guidance for general practices on the symptoms of cancer in children and young people, recommending referral within 48 hours for those presenting with a range of potential cancer symptoms, ensuring that children and young people are being diagnosed faster.
The Department is also taking steps to improve waiting times for cancer diagnosis and treatment across all cancer patient groups in England, by delivering an extra 40,000 scans, appointments, and operations each week to ensure that patients are seen and treated as quickly as possible.
Furthermore, the NHS will maximise the pace of the roll-out of additional diagnostic capacity, delivering the final year of the three-year investment plan for establishing Community Diagnostic Centres. They will also increase capacity to meet the demand for diagnostic services through investment in new capacity, including magnetic resonance imaging and computed tomography scanners.
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