§ Mr. SimmondsTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what the waiting times for chemotherapy and radiotherapy are in(a) Lincolnshire and (b) other counties in England; and what steps are being taken to improve these waiting times. [40463]
§ Yvette CooperThe NHS Cancer Plan set out maximum waiting time targets for first definitive cancer treatment which will come into effect over the next few years. From December 2001 there is a one-month maximum wait from diagnosis to first treatment for breast cancer and a one-month wait from urgent general practitioner referral to first treatment for childrens testicular cancer and acute leukaemia. By 2005 there will be a maximum one-month wait from diagnosis to first treatment for all cancers. Data to monitor the December 2001 target are being collected and will be published in due course. Data on waiting times for treatment of other cancers will be collected as the targets are introduced.