NHS patients will be sent for private cancer checks under plans to speed up treatment by opening more clinics in shopping centres and high streets.
Rishi Sunak wants to see more outsourcing of care to private companies to clear “huge” healthcare backlogs, with cancer diagnostics among the first areas to be contracted out.
Tens of thousands of people are waiting for cancer examinations amid warnings that delays in diagnosis are likely to lead to a surge in deaths while the health service struggles to recover from the pandemic.
Officials plan to test privately run diagnostic centres in an effort to entice companies to invest in scanners and staff to check more NHS patients. If successful, thousands of patients could be sent for private checks later
