Breast Cancer Now #NoTimeToWaste Campaign

We’re missing too many opportunities to diagnose breast cancer as fast and as early as we can. This means that we’re not giving people with breast cancer the best chance of survival. Since before the COVID-19 pandemic, despite the hard work of NHS staff, we’ve seen declining performance on both main routes for breast cancer diagnosis: the breast screening programme and an urgent GP referral. The pandemic has only accelerated these trends.

In Bootle, 8% of people with suspected breast cancer were seen by a specialist within two weeks at the start of 2022 (Jan-Mar). This is lower than the England performance of 54.0% and lower than the operational standard of 93%

The Two-week wait performance has declined in England compared to the same time pre-pandemic (86.53% in 2019 and 94.56% in 2018). Disappointingly, Bootle has ranked 108 out of 117 providers.

Neither the two-week wait standard of 93%, nor the 62-day wait for starting treatment standard of 85%, have been met for the past year. But the new Faster Diagnosis Standard (FDS), set at 75% has been met, lending weight to concerns that the target has been set far too low for breast cancer.

We need the Government to acknowledge the perilous situation breast cancer diagnosis is in and commit to addressing the systemic issues behind this. Because the ambition for breast cancer is nowhere near where it needs to be. Worryingly, we’ve started to move backwards - in terms of targets to deliver, missed opportunities to help solve the problem, and a loss of focus. We need to make sure that decisions made as part of the upcoming Cancer Plan present a pathway for improvement and don’t jeopardise what we’ve achieved so far.

I have therefore signed a letter to the Health Secretary demanding that he set out a clear timetable for raising the FDS to a more ambitious 95% level, as originally proposed in 2015, before the two-week wait is removed from legislation.