Suspected cancer patients are to be guaranteed a specialist screening within one week, Gordon Brown will announce in his Labour party conference speech.
Budget savings uncovered by the health secretary, Andy Burnham, will be diverted into purchasing diagnostic equipment for the NHS to enable doctors to screen patients for cancer more swiftly.
The pledge to introduce the change before the end of the next parliament extends a policy announced in June, which saw the government end its reliance on targets in the health service and instead gives users “entitlements”, which the NHS must provide.
The pledge to introduce the change before the end of the next parliament extends a policy announced in June, which saw the government end its reliance on targets in the health service and instead gives users “entitlements”, which the NHS must provide.
The prime minister will give hospitals extra resources to help them meet these obligations. With funds of £1bn over five years, departmental officials think the two-week right could be implemented within three years, and say the one-week right could be granted within five years.
Read more at The Guardian.
Tags: Cancer
