Thousands of patients given quicker access to cancer tests in the UK

Thousands of patients given quicker access to cancer tests in the UK

Thousands of Britons with suspected cancer will be given quicker access to tests so they can be diagnosed and treated faster.

Health Secretary Andrew Lansley is to announce changes so GPs can refer people with possible symptoms of disease directly for checks, without having to wait to first see a hospital specialist.

Late diagnosis is one of the main reasons that Britain has one of the worst survival rates from cancer in the developed world.

On Tuesday Mr Lansley will set out plans to give family doctors better access to procedures such as colonoscopy and flexible sigmoidoscopy, which are used to diagnose bowel cancer, and MRI scans which can detect brain tumors.

Some GPs are already able to refer patients directly for some tests, such as X-rays for those with suspected lung cancer, and ultrasound scans, to detect ovarian, pancreatic and liver disease.

Mr Lansley will announce plans to expand the program, and increase the types of tests covered by "direct access".

Specialists say too many people delay seeing their GP about possible symptoms of the disease. Even when they do, many cases are missed, because family doctors do not always recognize signs which can easily be mistaken for less serious diseases.

When GPs do suspect cancer, patients can still be left waiting, because many of the tests are not currently ordered until the patient has seen a specialist.

Last month research found that nearly a quarter of cancer diagnoses in England are not made until patients arrive at hospital in an emergency.

Research by the National Cancer Intelligence Network found that 23% of cancer cases were detected only as patients underwent emergency treatment. The figures were even higher for sufferers of acute leukemia and brain cancer, where well over half of cases were discovered at a critical stage.

Next month ministers will launch a major public awareness campaign on the early signs of breast lung and bowel cancers, the two most common forms of the disease.

Research has repeatedly shown British cancer victims are more likely to die of the disease than in many countries in the developed world;

Last year's survey by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) saw Britain languishing with the Czech Republic and Poland in international comparisons on health.

Britain's survival rates for breast cancer and bowel cancer were below the OECD average, falling twelfth in the league tables on both.

In the UK, 52 per cent of people diagnosed with bowel cancer were alive five years on, compared with 65.5 per cent in the US. Breast cancer survival in the UK was 78.5 per cent, compared with more than 90 per cent in the states.

Health Secretary Andrew Lansley said: "Cancer affects us all. Everyone will have a story of someone they love battling the disease. In those instances we need to know that the NHS will be there for us.

"Our ambition is simple, to deliver survival rates among the best in the world. Earlier diagnosis is key to this which is why we will be prioritizing this area".

Mr Lansley will tell a major conference of experts in London that improving survival rates means putting "faith in those on the front line" to deliver better outcomes, instead of "micromanaging from Whitehall".

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