Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many and what proportion of of cancer patients have had their 3 monthly scans (a) delayed and (b) cancelled in the last 12 months.

This data is not held by the Department. Diagnostics waiting times and activity data is published by NHS England and is available at the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/diagnostics-waiting-times-and-activity/

The Government commitment to reduce the number of missed and delayed appointments, including scans, is a priority for the National Health Service in England. The recent expansion of the ‘NHS App’ has already stopped 1.5 million hospital appointments being missed and saved 5.7 million staff hours since July 2024.

The Department is also supporting NHS England in the implementation of the new ‘Cancer 360 tool’ which brings all the data into one central system, so clinicians can prioritise those most in need and see patients quicker. This technology is set to benefit millions of patients over the next five to 10 years. The real-time tool will help teams to easily track a patient’s progress, avert delays and harness digital innovation to improve patient outcomes.