Cancer waiting times, England
Recent months are provisional until finalised
The share of people in England told within 28 days of an urgent referral whether they have cancer (the Faster Diagnosis Standard), and the share starting their first treatment for cancer within 62 days (the combined 62-day standard), each month since April 2021.
Faster Diagnosis Standard met
78.6%
Aug 2026 · provisional
Verified against source, 28 October 2026, 23:39 UTC- Faster Diagnosis Standard (28 days)
- Combined 62-day standard
Source: NHS England. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
Data table
65 periods, newest first
| Period | Faster Diagnosis Standard (28 days) | Combined 62-day standard |
|---|---|---|
| Aug 2026 | 78.6% | 71.9% |
| Jul 2026 | 79.3% | 71.2% |
| Jun 2026 | 79.0% | 69.9% |
| May 2026 | 79.0% | 69.6% |
| Apr 2026 | 75.9% | 70.0% |
| Mar 2026 | 79.5% | 72.9% |
| Feb 2026 | 80.5% | 68.9% |
| Jan 2026 | 72.7% | 68.6% |
| Dec 2025 | 77.4% | 72.1% |
| Nov 2025 | 76.4% | 70.5% |
| Oct 2025 | 76.0% | 69.1% |
| Sep 2025 | 73.8% | 68.0% |
| Aug 2025 | 74.6% | 69.3% |
| Jul 2025 | 76.5% | 69.5% |
| Jun 2025 | 76.8% | 67.3% |
| May 2025 | 74.8% | 68.1% |
| Apr 2025 | 76.7% | 70.1% |
| Mar 2025 | 79.0% | 71.4% |
| Feb 2025 | 80.2% | 67.2% |
| Jan 2025 | 73.4% | 67.6% |
| Dec 2024 | 78.0% | 71.7% |
| Nov 2024 | 77.3% | 69.8% |
| Oct 2024 | 77.0% | 68.5% |
| Sep 2024 | 74.9% | 67.4% |
| Aug 2024 | 75.5% | 69.5% |
| Jul 2024 | 76.2% | 68.0% |
| Jun 2024 | 76.2% | 67.9% |
| May 2024 | 76.2% | 66.2% |
| Apr 2024 | 73.3% | 67.0% |
| Mar 2024 | 77.3% | 68.9% |
| Feb 2024 | 78.1% | 64.2% |
| Jan 2024 | 70.8% | 62.7% |
| Dec 2023 | 74.1% | 66.2% |
| Nov 2023 | 71.8% | 65.5% |
| Oct 2023 | 70.9% | 63.2% |
| Sep 2023 | 69.7% | 63.5% |
| Aug 2023 | 71.6% | 65.9% |
| Jul 2023 | 74.0% | 65.6% |
| Jun 2023 | 73.4% | 63.1% |
| May 2023 | 71.3% | 62.7% |
| Apr 2023 | 71.3% | 64.9% |
| Mar 2023 | 74.1% | 67.5% |
| Feb 2023 | 75.0% | 62.5% |
| Jan 2023 | 66.9% | 59.3% |
| Dec 2022 | 70.4% | 66.3% |
| Nov 2022 | 69.6% | 65.1% |
| Oct 2022 | 68.0% | 64.0% |
| Sep 2022 | 67.0% | 64.2% |
| Aug 2022 | 69.5% | 65.3% |
| Jul 2022 | 71.0% | 65.7% |
| Jun 2022 | 70.3% | 64.1% |
| May 2022 | 70.7% | 65.5% |
| Apr 2022 | 70.3% | 69.0% |
| Mar 2022 | 73.0% | – |
| Feb 2022 | 74.1% | – |
| Jan 2022 | 63.6% | – |
| Dec 2021 | 70.3% | – |
| Nov 2021 | 71.2% | – |
| Oct 2021 | 73.5% | – |
| Sep 2021 | 71.8% | – |
| Aug 2021 | 72.5% | – |
| Jul 2021 | 74.0% | – |
| Jun 2021 | 73.0% | – |
| May 2021 | 74.3% | – |
| Apr 2021 | 73.0% | – |
Source and licence
- Publisher
- NHS England
- Check it yourself
- https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/cancer-waiting-times/
- Licence
- Open Government Licence v3.0 – Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
- Retrieved
- 28 October 2026, 23:39 UTC
- Raw files fetched
- https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/wp-json/wp/v2/pages?slug=cancer-waiting-times&_fields=id,link,modified,contentSHA-256 8998c0c8b88cd08911a7c690e14892b3364d1937aa2e4e01be0c387586b2c61c · 24,943 bytes
- https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/CWT-CRS-National-Time-Series-Oct-2009-Aug-2026-with-Revisions.xlsxSHA-256 1f3dff61579f08fe1c5614e9f6b68e96bb9ef4ce4404db26edd744b5849b5f56 · 64,819 bytes
Verification
Verified against source, 28 October 2026, 23:39 UTC Run at 28 October 2026, 23:39 UTC; 130 of 130 figures matched the live source.
| Result | Check | Detail |
|---|---|---|
| Pass | Provenance recorded | NHS England; Open Government Licence v3.0; retrieved 2026-10-28T23:39:34Z; 2 raw file(s) |
| Pass | Raw files match recorded SHA-256 | 2 of 2 files intact |
| Pass | Re-parsing raw files reproduces figures | 130 of 130 figures and the headline reproduced |
| Pass | Figures are finite numbers | 130 figures, 0 invalid |
| Pass | Live source matches every figure | 130 of 130 figures match exactly after downloading 2 source file(s) again (2 byte-identical); the headline matches |
| Pass | NHS England file is current | latest month 2026-08 ended 58 days before retrieval (limit 100), from CWT-CRS-National-Time-Series-Oct-2009-Aug-2026-with-Revisions.xlsx |
| Pass | The monthly combined CSVs agree | 34 of 34 figures match England's rows (provider basis, all cancers, all routes) in 2026-27-Apr-Aug-Cumulative-Monthly-Combined-CSV-Provisional.csv, 2025-26-Apr-Mar-Cumulative-Monthly-Combined-CSV-Final.csv |
| Not run | Source page answers | https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/cancer-waiting-times/ refuses automated requests (a bot challenge, HTTP 202); open it in a browser to compare |
Notes
- The Faster Diagnosis Standard counts people told they have cancer, or that cancer is ruled out, within 28 days of an urgent referral. The combined 62-day standard counts people starting their first treatment for cancer within 62 days of an urgent suspected cancer, breast symptomatic or screening referral, or a consultant upgrade. NHS England's operational standards are 75% and 85%.
- From NHS England's national time series with revisions. Monthly figures are provisional when first published and are finalised later under NHS England's revisions policy.
- NHS England says 62-day figures from before October 2023, when the new standards began, are not directly comparable with later ones.