NHS Cancer plan
The NHS Cancer Plan for the next 10 years has been launched. Its central ambition is that, by 2035, more people will survive cancer or live well with cancer.
The key commitments:
- diagnose cancer earlier
- drive up cancer performance and meet Cancer Waiting Times standards by 2029
- improve quality of life for people being diagnosed with, treated for or living with cancer
- Focus on prevention
Key Headlines & Ambitions
- Survival Target: A commitment that, by 2035, 75% of patients diagnosed with cancer will be cancer-free or living well beyond five years.
- Faster Diagnosis & Treatment: The plan aims to increase the speed of diagnosis and set a new standard that 85% of patients begin treatment within 62 days of urgent referral by 2029.
- Technology & Innovation: £2.5 billion investment to fund 9.5 million additional tests, including increased use of AI in diagnostics and rapid expansion of robot-assisted surgeries (from 70,000 to 500,000 annually).
- Community Diagnostic Centres: Continued rollout of hubs operating 12 hours a day, seven days a week for quicker patient testing.
- Personalised Care: Every patient to receive a tailored Cancer Support Plan covering treatment, mental health, and employment support.
- Targeted Screening & Genetics: Expansion of screening programmes (including AI and robot pilots) and enhanced genetic testing to tailor.
