Cancer diagnosis and treatment waiting times

​​​​​Request 722087933

Under the Freedom of Information (Jersey) Law 2011, I request the following information regarding Jersey General Hospital:

1. The average time taken between cancer diagnosis and the commencement of first treatment (surgery, chemotherapy, or radiotherapy) for each of the past [e.g., 3] years. 

2. A breakdown of this data by cancer type, if available. 

3. Percentage of patients sent off Island for treatment.

4. The percentage of patients who began treatment within the national target timeframe (e.g., 31 or 62 days). 

5. Any internal or public reports/audits monitoring compliance with national cancer treatment waiting times. 

Many thanks

Response

It is not possible to report waiting times from cancer diagnosis to commencing treatment for the requested timeframe. 

Health and Care Jersey (HCJ) has implemented the upgraded Somerset Cancer Registry system, which is expected to be fully functional in the next quarter of 2025. This will enable more comprehensive reporting. Currently, reporting of date of diagnosis or treatment start date from the central records held is not enabled. 

As noted in a Freedom of Information response published to www.gov.je in June 2024, whilst information on date of first presentation / diagnosis and commencement of treatment would be documented within the clinical notes of an individual’s medical record, significant manual interrogation of individual case notes would be required to identify the requested information, with creation and analysis of the corresponding datasets also required. Scheduled Public Authorities are not obliged to create or manipulate data for the purpose of responding to Freedom of Information requests, and manual examination of records would exceed the timescales prescribed in the Freedom of Information (Costs) (Jersey) Regulations 2014. Therefore, Article 16 of the Freedom of Information (Jersey) Law 2011 has been applied.

Variables that may influence the period from diagnosis to treatment include the organ or system affected, the treatment pathway or particular course of treatment prescribed, whether off-island treatment is required, and if further investigations or preparation are required ahead of treatment, as well as individual choice or time to consider the options available.

HCJ waiting list data for Secondary Scheduled Care is available online at the link below, and can be searched according to specialty:

Microsoft Power BI​

HCJ is not currently enlisted in National cancer audits, though work is progressing on this front. Digital maturity in this area will support the work.

Further information on planned work and progress towards greater data capture and reporting capabilities can be found in 'Together; a Cancer Strategy for Jersey':

ID Jersey Cancer Strategy 'Together' 2023-2027.pdf

The Channel Islands Cancer Report 2007 to 2020 is also available through www.gov.je​ at the following link:

Channel Islands cancer report 2007 to 2020

Article applied

Article 16 - A scheduled public authority may refuse to supply information if cost excessive

(1) A scheduled public authority that has been requested to supply information may refuse to supply the information if it estimates that the cost of doing so would exceed an amount determined in the manner prescribed by Regulations. ​