More than a third of patients in England are waiting longer than the standard time for cancer treatment in England, according to official data.
While the Office for National Statistics (ONS) stresses that direct comparisons cannot be made, the data also showed that the percentage of patients waiting longer for cancer treatment has generally increased across the four nations of the UK.
Wait times up across UK nations
England
In England in the first quarter of 2012, 11.0% were waiting longer than the 62-day standard, compared with 33.4% in Q2 2024.
In Q1 2012, 1.6% of patients were waiting longer than the 31-day standard for treatment, compared with 8.9% in Q2 2024.
Scotland
Meanwhile in Scotland too, there was a general upward trend in the percentage of patients waiting for longer than the 62-day standard in Scotland, between Q1 2012 and Q1 2024 (5.2% and 29.6%, respectively).
However, the percentage of patients waiting longer than the 31-day standard had proven more stable over time.
In Q1 2012, 2.0% of patients in Scotland waited longer than the 31-day standard, compared with 5.9% in Q1 2024.
Wales
Over in Wales, in June 2019, it introduced a new 62-day cancer waiting times standard called the Suspected Cancer Pathway (SCP). This was designed to include all referral sources, with only minimal waiting time adjustments. Data are not available on a comparable basis before the introduction of the SCP.
In Q3 (July to Sept) 2019, 38.7% of patients in Wales waited longer than 62 days from when cancer was first suspected to starting treatment. This percentage has increased to 44.7% in Q2 2024.
This data series did not cover 31 day waits in Wales due to changes made in 2019.
Northern Ireland
And over the Irish Sea in Northern Ireland, there was also a general upward trend in the percentage of patients waiting longer than the 62-day standard in Northern Ireland, between Q1 2012 and Q3 2023 (20.1% and 66.0%, respectively).
There has also been an upward trend in the percentage of patients waiting longer than the 31-day standard.
In Q1 2012, 3.9% of patients waited longer than the 31-day standard in Northern Ireland, compared with 12.1% in Q3 2023.
Rates of compliance
The ONS points out that each country sets its own targets for compliance to the 31-day cancer waiting times standard, which can change over time.
Currently, England’s target rate of compliance to the 31-day standard is 96%, Scotland’s target is 95%, and Northern Ireland’s target is 98%.
Wales does not currently have a 31-day cancer waiting times standard. It used to have a 31-day standard for a subset of patients before changes were introduced in 2019, but these data are no longer published.
The ONS added direct comparisons of the performance of the UK nations cannot be made due to the number and complexity of the differences between the cancer waiting time standards across the UK, though comparisons in overall trends can still be made.
The percentage of patients waiting longer than the 62-day standard for cancer treatment has generally increased over the past 12 years in England, Scotland, and Northern Ireland; the series in Wales covers the past five years and it has also broadly increased.
Cancer waiting times standards for England, Scotland, and Northern Ireland also state that there should be no more than 62 days between a cancer referral being received by a hospital (specialist) to when a patient starts treatment.
Wales also has a 62-day cancer waiting times standard, but it starts from the “point-of-suspicion” to when a patient begins their cancer treatment.
Each UK country also sets its own targets for compliance to the 62-day standard, which can change over time.
Scotland and Northern Ireland currently have a target rate of 95% compliance. In England the target is 85%, and in Wales the target is 75%.
There was a break in these trends in 2020, when the percentage of patients waiting longer than the 62-day standard to start treatment declined while coronavirus (Covid-19) lockdown restrictions were in place. There were corresponding increases around the time the UK’s roadmap out of lockdown began in March 2021.