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Written question asked by Derek Twigg (Labour) on Wednesday, 8 July 2026, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 13 July 2026. It was answered by Sharon Hodgson (Labour) on Thursday, 16 July 2026 on behalf of the Department of Health and Social Care.

Cancer: Widnes and Halewood

Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what is the current wait time for cancer patients, from GP referral to being seen by a specialist in the Widnes and Halewood constituency.

Answer

The Department does not hold cancer waiting times data at a parliamentary constituency level. NHS England publishes cancer waiting times statistics by National Health Service provider and integrated care board, including performance against the faster diagnosis standard (FDS) which replaced the former two-week wait standard in October 2023, as the FDS measures whether patients referred urgently with suspected cancer have cancer diagnosed or ruled out within 28 days.

NHS England also continues to publish data on the time from an urgent suspected cancer referral to a first outpatient attendance and from an urgent breast symptomatic referral to a first hospital assessment. However, these measures do not necessarily indicate when a patient is first seen by a cancer specialist, as they may include attendance with a consultant-led team member, attendance at a diagnostic clinic, or a direct diagnostic test through a straight-to-test pathway. This data is available at the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/cancer-waiting-times/monthly-data-and-summaries/2026-27-monthly-cancer-waiting-times-statistics/

Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
16849
Session
2026-27
Subjects
Cancer Medical treatments Waiting lists Widnes and Halewood
Contains statistics
Yes
Link
View this Written question on www.parliament.uk