Cancer and diagnostic waiting times for November 2024

Commenting on the latest cancer and diagnostic waiting times for November 2024, The Royal College of Radiologists said: 

“While waiting lists are still far too long, including for cancer diagnosis and treatment, it is positive to see genuine progress against NHS England’s targets. The NHS is on track to meeting both of its interim March 2025 cancer waiting times targets: firstly, the target for 77% of patients to receive a cancer diagnosis or have cancer ruled out within 28 days from referral, and secondly, the target that 70% of patients start their cancer treatment within two months of an urgent referral. This is a testament to the hard work of our dedicated oncologists and radiologists, who continue to strive to deliver the best results for their patients. Despite this, there is still a long way to go to meet the actual target for 85% of patients to start treatment within two months of a referral. Similarly, waits for radiotherapy remain too long; 12% of patients waited more than a month to start radiotherapy following the decision to treat (against a target of 4%), reflecting limited capacity in radiotherapy departments. 

In recent months, we have also seen a sustained improvement in performance against the diagnostic waiting times target. However, there is still a long way to go. In November, over 65,000 people still waited more than 6 weeks for a CT or MRI scan, equivalent to 13% of the total waiting list (against a 1% target). Investment in equipment is just one part of the solution to bringing down waiting lists. The major driver of these long waits is shortages in the key workforce groups; clinical oncologists and radiologists, and we’ll continue to press the Government and NHS England to deliver greater workforce capacity.”