The National Health Service Commissioning Board and Clinical Commissioning Groups (Responsibilities and Standing Rules) Regulations 2012

[F1 Duty to make arrangements to diagnose or rule out cancer E+W

52.— (1) A relevant body must make arrangements to ensure that at the end of each data collection period, for persons falling within paragraph (2), the waiting time period to diagnose or rule out cancer did not exceed 28 days in at least 75% of cases where the waiting time period ended in that data collection period.

(2) A person falls within this paragraph if—

(a) the relevant body has responsibility for that person; and

(b) they are a person in respect of whom an urgent referral has been made on or after 1st April 2024 by an eligible referrer—

(i) for suspected cancer, or

(ii) for breast symptoms (where cancer is not suspected).

(3) The waiting time period referred to in paragraph (1) begins on the start date and ends on the date when—

(a) an outcome (either a diagnosis or ruling out of cancer) is communicated to the person or, if earlier, a notification containing an outcome is sent to the person,

(b) a clinical decision is made that the person requires further interval scanning or testing before a diagnosis of cancer can be made or cancer can be ruled out, or

(c) a clinical decision is made that the person requires treatment before a diagnosis of cancer can be made or cancer can be ruled out.

(4) Where—

(a) the person concerned did not attend the first appointment made by a health service provider in response to the urgent referral, and

(b) that person had not requested in advance of the first appointment that the date for that appointment be rearranged,

the period of time specified in paragraph (5) is excluded from the calculation of the waiting time period specified in paragraph (3).

(5) The period of time to be excluded for the purposes of paragraph (4)—

(a) begins with the start date, and

(b) ends on the date on which the health service provider receives notification that the person who has been urgently referred is available again for an appointment with that provider.

(6) In the exercise of its functions under paragraph (1), a relevant body must have regard to the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence Guideline “Suspected cancer: recognition and referral” published on 23rd June 2015 and updated on 2nd October 2023.

(7) For the purposes of this regulation and regulation 53, cancer is to be regarded as having been ruled out either when a diagnosis of cancer has been excluded or when all reasonable steps to exclude cancer have been completed.]

Textual Amendments

F1 Reg. 52 substituted (1.4.2024) by The National Health Service Commissioning Board and Clinical Commissioning Groups (Responsibilities and Standing Rules) (Amendment) Regulations 2024 (S.I. 2024/302), regs. 1(b), 2(9) (with reg. 3)