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Written question asked by Kate Hollern (Labour) on Tuesday, 5 September 2023, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 11 September 2023 (named day). It was answered by Will Quince (Conservative) on Monday, 11 September 2023 on behalf of the Department of Health and Social Care.

Cancer: Blackburn

Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to reduce the time between an urgent GP referral and the commencement of treatment for cancer for patients in Blackburn constituency.

Answer

The Department is already taking steps to reduce cancer treatment waiting times across England. Reducing the time between an urgent general practitioner referral and the commencement of treatment for cancer for patients is a priority for this Government. The Department is working jointly with NHS England on implementing the ‘Delivery plan for tackling the COVID-19 backlogs in elective care’. The Government plans to spend more than £8 billion from 2022/23 to 2024/25 to help drive up and protect elective activity, including cancer diagnosis and treatment activity.

In the 2023/24 Operational Planning Guidance, NHS England announced that it is providing over £390 million in cancer service development funding to Cancer Alliances in each of the next two years to support delivery of the strategy and the operational priorities for cancer, which includes increasing and prioritising diagnostic and treatment capacity for cancer.

Additionally, the Government recently published the ‘Major conditions strategy: case for change and our strategic framework’ on 14 August 2023, which sets out our approach to making the choices over the next five years that will deliver the most value in facing the health challenges of today and of the decades ahead, including cancer.

Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
197862
Session
2022-23
Subjects
Cancer Medical treatments Waiting lists Blackburn
Link
View this Written question on www.parliament.uk