§ Mr. CrausbyTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what progress is being made on reducing waiting times for cancer treatment. [115196]
§ Yvette CooperWe are determined to reduce cancer waiting times for diagnosis and treatment. In April 1999, we introduced a two-week waiting time standard for patients referred urgently by their general practitioners with suspected breast cancer. Since then, over 56,000 women have benefited by seeing a specialist within two weeks. We will introduce this high standard of care for all other urgent cases of suspected cancer by the end of this year.
We are also introducing "On the spot" style booking systems for cancer treatment through the Cancer Services Collaborative. This £6 million initiative will significantly improve patient care by streamlining and re-designing care from referral through diagnosis and treatment thus reducing delays at every stage.