§ Mr. SymsTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what progress has been made towards the Government's target to end waiting for cancer surgery. [76036]
§ Mr. HuttonWe have a programme of measures in place targeted at cutting waiting times for cancer treatment. Additional resources have already been invested in breast and colorectal cancer services and we have recently announced a further £10 million to improve lung cancer services. This targeted investment has demonstrated tangible improvements in services and has enabled the National Health Service to finance additional work force, training and equipment to speed access to diagnosis, reduce waiting times for treatment and improve quality of care as part of the ongoing implementation of the Calman/Hine recommendations.
The National Health Service has put the necessary systems in place to meet The New NHS guarantee that by April 1999 everyone with suspected breast cancer will be able to see a specialist within two weeks of their general practitioner deciding they need to be seen urgently and requesting an appointment. We are also developing a programme of action which will deliver rapid and sustainable improvements in the speed and quality of care for all patients with a suspected or a diagnosed cancer. We will continue to build on this progress over the course of this Parliament.