Patients to sign up for trials via NHS App under new Cancer Plan

Patients will be able to sign up for clinical trials through the NHS App, as part of the government’s National Cancer Plan.

Under the plan, which launched today, the NHS commits to ensuring that three in four people diagnosed with cancer from 2035 onwards are cancer-free or living well after five years.  

The NHS has not met its central cancer performance target - that 85% of patients start treatment within 62 days of referral - since 2014, placing it behind comparable countries such as Australia and Denmark.

By March 2029, the NHS plans to meet cancer waiting time standards, which it says means that hundreds of thousands more patients will receive timely treatment. 

Wes Streeting, health secretary, said: “Our cancer plan will invest in and modernise the NHS, so that opportunity can be seized and our ambitions realised. 

“This plan will slash waits, invest in cutting-edge technology, and give every patient the best possible chance of beating cancer.” 

As part of the plan – and the Rare Cancers Bill which is currently going through Parliament – patients will be able to search for trials on the clinical research database via the NHS App and ask to be contacted.  

Eventually patients will be able to sign up to automatically receive details of clinical trials that might benefit them.

Be Part of Research – a free service which makes it easier to find and take part in health and care research- will be integrated into the NHS App to help patients with rare cancers be matched with trials.

Lord Vallance, science minister, said: “This work, alongside our wider efforts to speed up clinical trials in the UK, will make a real difference in helping more cancer patients access trials and accelerate getting new life-changing treatments to those who need them.”

The plan also includes a £2.3bn investment to deliver 9.5 million additional tests by 2029 -investing in more scanners, digital technology and automated testing. 

It will also see the number of robot-assisted procedures increase from 70,000 to half a million by 2035, with the aim of reducing complications and freeing up hospital beds.  

Patients who could benefit will be offered a test that analyses the DNA of their cancer to help doctors understand the type of cancer someone has and choose the treatments most likely to work for them.  

New technology is also being developed to give patients better access to tests for cancer by offering them the earliest available appointment from NHS organisations in their areas.

Earlier this month, the government announced a new AI pilot to help detect hard-to-reach lung cancers with fewer invasive tests.

Professor Peter Johnson, NHS national clinical director for cancer, said: “The National Cancer Plan will see the NHS deliver world-class cancer care, offering renewed hope for millions and ensuring the health service is there for patients whenever they need it.” 

Sarah Woolnough, chief executive of think tank The King’s Fund, welcomed the “ambitious, long-term plan with a clear set of priorities for the health and care system to work towards”.

However she highlighted the issues which some hospitals face with sharing imaging and pathology results because of old technology, and the plan’s lack of focus on preventing cancer through tackling obesity, alcohol and physical activity.

“The system as it stands will not meet the cancer treatment standards by 2029 unless there is a big step change.

“To that end there remain questions about whether the levers are in place to make this possible and how the system can also meet the new commitments announced in the plan,” Woolnough said.