§ Dr. Evan HarrisTo ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to his answer of 10 May 2002,Official Report, column 401W, on the NHS Cancer Plan, what consultations he undertook and what representations he received prior to developing the two-week-wait target for cancer diagnosis in the NHS Cancer Plan. [60818]
§ Ms BlearsA cancer waiting times multi-disciplinary working group met in 1997. The group made recommendations to improve access to cancer services including the need to set specific waiting time targets for all stages of the patient journey. The first of these was the introduction of the two week out-patient waiting times standard. The NHS Cancer Plan introduced further targets to reduce the time patients have to wait for diagnosis and treatment.