PARLIAMENTARY EARLY DAY MOTION
BREAST CANCER AND RADIOTHERAPY WAITING TIMES (16 May 2005)

That this House expresses concern at the adverse effect that the two-week breast cancer urgent referral target has had on other breast cancer waiting times; notes that those waiting for non-urgent referrals can now wait up to 17 weeks for an appointment and that there is no evidence overall waiting times have improved; further notes the Prime Minister's pledge that non-urgent referrals will be seen within two weeks by 2008 but believes that frontline clinical staff should be free from political targets to prioritise referrals on the basis of clinical need; expresses further concern that the Government's 18-week waiting time pledge from GP referral to treatment considers only the first stage of treatment and therefore ignores the significant delays in completing treatment in areas such as radiotherapy; further notes that the most recent figures from the Royal College of Radiologists show that the percentage of patients waiting longer than the maximum acceptable waiting time more than doubled between 1998 and 2003 for the radical and palliative categories; and calls on the Government to assess whether these targets have served to move patients from one queue to another.

Sponsored by:
Lord Lansley (Conservative)