There are two workstreams to this project; timed pathways and the overall improvement of 62-day pathways and performance. These will be delivered in parallel with Wessex Cancer Alliance work to deliver Phase 3 of the NHS restoration and recovery work.

Timed Pathways – Background

As set out in the NHS Long Term Plan, the introduction of the 28-day FDS and national timed pathways look to support improvements to cancer services and support the achievement of the cancer waiting times standards. In 2015, the Independent Cancer Taskforce recommended a new, patient-centred performance standard in response to these concerns. This led to the development and definition of the FDS, which will be rolled out and implemented nationally by 2020 with the following goals:

• Deliver cancer diagnosis or ruling out of cancer within 28-days of referral to as many patients in England as reasonably possible
• Create a more patient-centred standard, with a greater focus on communication
• Streamline and accelerate diagnosis and ultimately time to treatment
• Reduce the gap between current 2WW and diagnosis to treatment standards
• National timed pathways for Lung, Colorectal, Prostate and OG cancers were implemented in 2019/20 across Wessex and supported through transformational funding

Timed Pathways – Objectives

• Undertake an audit of what has worked well and where there are any issues following implementation
• Ensure that with emergence of COVID-19 and the impact on capacity and resource that FDS pathways are reinstated where applicable
• Offer support to our Trusts to deliver against these pathways using intelligence gained from audit and to target use of financial resource to help overcome/unpick any issues identified across the system
• Achieve FDS performance and compliance standards across the Alliance

62-day pathway performance – Background

Currently, cancer patients are covered by several key waiting times standards. The most challenging of these standards have been the 62-day urgent GP referral to treatment.

As well as tumour sites covered within the timed pathway work (Lung, Prostate, Lower GI, Upper GI), Other key tumour sites which impact on overall 62 day performance for Wessex are Skin, Head and Neck which have been exacerbated with the impact of COVID-19 due to the need for extensive diagnostic tests to achieve a diagnosis and the complexity of the pathways. Work is needed to identify and address issues at trust level and across the system to support improvement in these pathways and overall performance against the CWT standards.

62-day pathway performance – Objectives

• Understand the impact of COVID-19 on pathways and work collaboratively with providers and key stakeholders to ensure services are restored
• Undertake and facilitate pathway mapping using improvement methodologies and tools to make patient centred improvements to pathways
• Facilitate cross organisational working groups to address known and identified issues in shared pathways
• Improve 62-day CWT performance at Trust level
• Meet 62-day CWT performance at Alliance level

You can download the Cancer Waiting Times Inter-Provider Transfer Policy here.