Publish date: 19 May 2026
The West Yorkshire and Harrogate Cancer Alliance has welcomed the latest Faster Diagnosis Standard which saw it meeting and exceeding the Government's three main cancer waiting times targets in March 2026
The results:
- Faster Diagnosis Standard, which measures how quickly we confirm a cancer diagnosis or give an "all clear," 83% - best in England, target met
- 31 Day Standard, which measures how quickly we deliver a first treatment for cancer after this has been agreed between the clinician and patient - NHS Constitution standard of 96% met
- 62-day Standard, which measures how quickly we deliver cancer treatment linked backed to the point of referral or escalation on to a cancer pathway, 79% - 4th best in England, planning target met
Jason Pawluk, Managing Director of the West Yorkshire and Harrogate Cancer Alliance, said: “This is a great achievement. On behalf of the Cancer Alliance, I would like to acknowledge and say thank you to our hard working clinical and support teams across all of our partners that made this happen.
“It's worth saying of course that there is more work to do to further improve and sustain this standard of delivery.
“By March 2029, the Government has asked hospital trusts to deliver an 85% level for performance against the target.
“We will keep focusing on this and are prioritising improvements on the lung, gynaecology, and head and neck cancer pathways in particular this year.
“It's also important to say that timeliness of care is a crucial part of quality and the associated positive patient experience that we need to see, alongside the focus on prevention, timelier presentation, innovation, research and the survivorship agenda which the National Cancer Plan sets out.
“We'll keep this balanced approach to help us deliver the range of improvements that people affected by cancer locally expect to see and we look forward to working with all our partners across 2026/27.”
