Fears over wait for cancer patients

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The Department of Health introduced a "two-week wait rule" in 1999 for urgent cases of suspected breast cancer.

It meant those women should only wait a maximum of two weeks between seeing their GP and a consultant.

But experts have called for an "urgent" review of the target after a study found a rising number of breast cancer cases among women classed as "non-urgent" and therefore forced to wait more than two weeks.

The authors of the study - carried out at the Frenchay Breast Care Centre in Bristol - said the new rule conveyed a "genuine sense of commitment to improving cancer services in the UK" when it was introduced, despite having "little scientific foundation".

However, the optimism over the new rule was short-lived, the authors said, and studies soon began to question its effectiveness.

The number of breast cancer cases diagnosed in the two-week group of patients has always been low and clinics have been flooded with inappropriate referrals, they added.

In light of this, a study was to assess the long-term impact of the rule for the first time. The authors included staff from the centre: Shelley Potter, a clinical fellow, Sasi Govindarajulu, a staff grade breast surgeon and Mike Shere, an associate specialist breast physician.

The research at the centre involved referrals for patients made between 1999 and 2005, during which time the overall number of referrals went up 9%. The study revealed that the number of routine referrals decreased by 24% but two-week wait referrals increased by 42% over the period.

A spokeswoman for the Department of Health said: "We are working hard to make sure that GPs accurately diagnose patients with suspected breast cancer so that they get the treatment they need quickly."