§ Mr. BercowTo ask the Secretary of State for Health if the PSA target for everyone with suspected cancer to be able to see a specialist within two weeks of his or her GP determining the need to do so was met by the required date of 2000. [47298]
§ Yvette Cooper[holding answer 10 April 2002]: The two week outpatient waiting time standard was introduced for all urgent cases of suspected cancer during 2000. Central monitoring of performance against the standard began on the 1 January 2001. In the first quarter monitoring (January—March 2001) 93.5 per cent. of people urgently referred with suspected cancer were seen within two weeks. The latest data (October—December 2001) shows that 95.1 per cent. of people urgently referred with suspected cancer were seen within two weeks.