Labour pledges to cut cancer waiting times and diagnose earlier

The party has proposed to double the number of MRI and CT scanners and purchase AI-enabled scanners to tackle the backlog.

Shadow health secretary Wes Streeting said delays in the cancer sector are often a ‘sign that things are going wrong in the NHS’ (Stefan Rousseau/PA) (PA Wire)

Labour has set out its plans to cut cancer waiting times and diagnose earlier, in a bid to improve survival rates.

The party has pledged to double the number of MRI and CT scanners and purchase AI-enabled scanners to tackle the increasing backlog.

Labour’s Catch Up On Cancer plan also includes delivering an extra two million appointments on evenings and weekends, and would be funded by abolishing the non-dom tax status.

NHS England data shows 100,000 people were diagnosed with cancer at stage 3 or 4 in 2021. In October this year, 6,700 (42%) of patients who were urgently referred waited longer than two months for their first treatment for cancer.

Longer waiting times for diagnostic scans and tests are likely to have a negative effect on cancer survival rates.

Shadow health secretary Wes Streeting said delays in the cancer sector are often a “sign that things are going wrong in the NHS”.

In May 2010 there were six patients in England waiting longer than 13 weeks for an MRI or CT scan. As of October 2023, this has risen to 29,000 patients waiting for the same scans, representing an increase of more than 477,000%.

The UK is behind comparable European nations in cancer survival rates, with the Institute for Public Policy Research estimating that 180,000 lives could have been saved since 2010.

Cancer is the canary in the coalmine. It is often the sign that things are going wrong in the NHS

Wes Streeting - shadow health secretary

Mr Streeting said: “Catching cancer early saves lives, I know because that’s what saved mine. The Conservatives have failed to arm the NHS with enough staff or the latest equipment, and left cancer patients waiting too long for tests and scans.

“Cancer is the canary in the coalmine. It is often the sign that things are going wrong in the NHS. After the first term of a Labour government, people should judge us by whether we have improved cancer services and improved survival rates.

“Labour’s plan to catch up to cancer will deliver two million more appointments on evenings and weekends, and double the number of CT and MRI scanners, so the NHS can catch cancer earlier and treat it faster.”