Health Secretary Steve Barclay says any changes to NHS cancer waiting list targets will be "driven by clinical experts" amid reports current targets ensuring patients see a specialist within two weeks of referral could be scrapped.
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00:00 Well we have a consultation at the moment in terms of cancer targets. Any changes that
00:04 are made will be those driven by clinical experts in the cancer field and will be done
00:09 in conjunction with the leading cancer charities. But what we're focused on is outcomes. What
00:15 is the best way of getting the highest survival rates possible? We're making progress over
00:20 the last 15 years. There's been a 9% increase in one year cancer survival rates, so progress
00:25 is being made. More checks are being done. There's been a 28% increase in the number
00:32 of urgent GP referrals for cancer checks. There's 3 million cancer checks this year,
00:38 over 600,000 more than before the pandemic. So more people are being checked, more people
00:43 are being diagnosed early, which is absolutely crucial to survival rates. But it's important
00:48 that we also listen to clinical leaders in the field so that the targets we have deliver
00:53 the best outcomes. And that's what really matters. It's the survival rates and making
00:58 sure that we're responding to the feedback from clinical experts. That's why we've
01:02 had a consultation on this.