Barclay: Cancer target changes to be driven by experts
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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Report by Alibhaiz. Like us on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/itn and follow us on Twitter at http://twitter.com/itn
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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.