NHS England has launched a consultation on proposed new standards that will help diagnose more cancers earlier and save more lives.

The proposals, supported by NHS staff as well as patient groups and cancer charities, aim to simplify and update cancer standards, based on the recommendations of the Independent Cancer Taskforce.

Now patients, clinicians and the public are being asked to share their views on the proposed standards over the next month.

The plan proposes ensuring patients have the same opportunity for faster diagnosis and treatment, including the 28-day faster diagnosis standard, which would see patients who have been urgently referred, have breast symptoms, or have been picked up through screening, have cancer ruled out or receive a diagnosis within 28 days.

This is in addition to a 62-day referral to treatment standard, meaning patients who receive a cancer diagnosis will start treatment within nine weeks from the date of referral, and a 31-day decision to treat to treatment standard, so that cancer patients receive their first treatment within a month of a decision to treat following diagnosis.

Areas where the new standards have been tested have shown that performance against the 62-day referral to treatment standard was significantly higher (74.9 per cent) than the control group (71.7 per cent) when using the new measures.

Dame Cally Palmer, NHS National Director for Cancer said: “Access standards have been key to improving timeliness of treatment for people with cancer since they were first introduced in 2000. As we see advances in diagnosis and treatments for cancer, it is only right that these standards are modernised – so that we can ensure patients are diagnosed more quickly and are given the treatment they need as soon as possible, helping us save even more lives. These proposed changes are an important part of improving cancer care and so from today, the NHS will be inviting views from patients, staff and the public.”