From 1 October, NHS cancer waiting time standards are being simplified to help speed up cancer diagnosis and treatment for thousands of people.
The new standards include three measures:
· The Faster Diagnosis Standard, which means a diagnosis or ruling out of cancer within 28 days of referral.
· 31-day treatment standard, which means all cancer patients will start treatment within 31 days of a decision to treat.
· 62-day treatment standard, which means patients will start treatment within 62 days of referral or consultant upgrade.