§ Dr. GibsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the effect of the two week wait rule on the management of suspected skin cancers. [174124]
§ Miss Melanie JohnsonA two-week outpatient waiting time standard was introduced for urgently referred cases of suspected skin cancer from October 2000. In the last quarter (October to December 2003), 99.5 per cent., of urgently referred patients with suspected skin cancer were seen within two weeks of urgent referral. We have issued general practitioner cancer referral guidelines to assist GPs in determining those patients who need to be referred urgently to see a specialist within two weeks, those patients that can be referred for a routine appointment and those who can be safely watched at a primary care level. The referral guidelines are currently being reviewed by the National Institute for Clinical Excellence.