The Government have rebuked the Health and Social Care Committee’s warnings from their report into cancer services. The Committee’s report, which was published in April, claimed that progress on cancer targets would be negated if additional efforts were not made. They also stated their belief that the NHS would not currently meet the 75% early cancer diagnosis target by 2028.

Cancer workforce issues, they asserted, would prevent any meaningful progress in this area unless addressed. The Committee found that currently the Government were not taking measures to remove these barriers.

The Government response, which was published this week, said it was ‘premature’ for the Committee to suggest that progress on early cancer diagnosis was ‘off track’.

Health and Social Care Committee Chair Jeremy Hunt said: “Earlier cancer diagnosis is the key to improving overall survival rates. Without wholesale improvement, we do not believe that the NHS is on track to reach the government’s target on this and so it is deeply concerning that Ministers label our warning as premature”.

You can read the Committee’s report here and the Government’s response here.