NHS England: The diagnostic period of a cancer pathway is currently largely unknown.

Data-sharing agreement from NHS Digital registers of approved data releases, 2014–2019. Evidence status: source reported.

Organisation: NHS England
Source reference: DARS-NIC-379704-S6H6R-v0.0
Jurisdiction: England
Licence: Open Government Licence v3.0, subject to NHS England terms and exclusions

Register reference: DARS-NIC-379704-S6H6R-v0.0
Agreement period: not published to no end date published
For commercial purposes (as marked in the register): Not stated
Release files listed by NHS England: 10

Data approved

Diagnostic Imaging Dataset

Objective, as published

The diagnostic period of a cancer pathway is currently largely unknown. Recent analysis of Cancer Waiting Times (CWT) has shown that the diagnostic period of the pathway is the main factor in causing delays in waiting times. The objective of linking the CWT dataset and the Diagnostic Imaging Dataset (DIDS) is to investigate this period and provide evidence to answer questions such as: Are the number of diagnostics tests per cancer patient increasing? Are tests taking longer due to an increase in activity or due to more complex diagnostics? Are the tests consistent with published clinical guidelines? What is the ration of test for diagnostic purposes compared to surveillance post treatment? Of diagnosed cancers, what proportion had diagnostic tests referred by a GP? Does the source of diagnostic tests matched to cancer waits affect the detection and conversion rates? Objective One - Analysis of the pseudonymised, non-sensitive record level data by NHS England CWT team, producing national level and provider level analysis which is aggregate data with small numbers suppressed. Objective Two - Present early findings of aggregate data with small numbers suppressed to steering group for analysis. Address feedback from steering group, produce further set of analyses covering trend analyses of rates of diagnostics on cancer pathways, times waited for diagnostics from request to test, and test to report issued . Objective Three - The data would be used to measure and compare the perf…

Expected benefits, as published

Objectives 1-3 provide a rigorous quality assurance of the data, ensuring data quality issues are fully understood and addressed and the types of analysis undertaken are appropriate to inform decision making. Objectives 4-5 will realize benefits to the health system as follows: Analysis of this data would inform how resources could be more efficiently distributed within the diagnostic part of a cancer pathway – there is evidence that providers and commissioners currently are limited in their ability to undertake capacity and demand planning and this linked data will assist. Where efficiencies were achieved, this would be expected to result in a decrease in the waiting times for this period and an increase in the cancer waiting time performance for the Urgent GP referral to first definitiv…

Source: https://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/ukgwa/2019/http://content.digital.nhs.uk/media/22305/Data-Release-Register-April-to-August-2016/xls/Data_Release_Register__April_-_August_2016.xlsx. Captured 2026-10-30.

Limitations: Agreement as recorded in an NHS Digital register of approved data releases (2014–2019), retrieved from the UK Government Web Archive. That register lists releases made in its period and the agreement's purpose statement as it then stood; it gives no agreement dates, and the agreement may have changed since. Imported only where a paper quotes a reference no current register holds.