Improving cancer care waits for patients

Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

Patients at Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (LUHFT) are experiencing shorter waits for their cancer care following significant improvements to 62-day and 28-day waiting lists.

At the end of December 2023, LUHFT had fewer patients waiting over 62-days than planned, and its improvements in the faster diagnosis standard means the Trust is on track to meet NHS England’s target of 75% of patients getting a cancer diagnosis or having cancer ruled out within 28 days - by March 2024.

As a result of making the improvements required, NHS England has now removed LUHFT from its cancer tiering – a national programme which consists of trusts identified as needing the most support.

In addition to enhanced teamwork across LUHFT’s hospital sites and improvements to patient care pathways, the Trust also worked closely with partners in primary care, NHS Cheshire and Merseyside and the Cheshire and Merseyside Cancer Alliance, to help contribute to these improved waiting times.

LUHFT was moved from NHS England’s Tier 1 into Tier 2 for cancer in September 2023, before being removed from tiering all together in January 2024.

The Trust is now focused on continuing to maintain and build on the improvements it has seen in the last 12 months, which included being removed from NHS England’s Oversight Framework segmentation 4 and national Recovery Support Programme (RSP) – a special programme for hospital trusts that required intensive support to better improve how care is provided for patients.