GeraClinic / NHS Cancer Waiting Times Index / Methodology
How the Gera NHS Cancer Waiting Times Index is calculated
The Gera NHS Cancer Waiting Times Index is a reproducible 0–100 score derived entirely from the real NHS England Cancer Waiting Times release. This page sets out the exact formula, why there is no editorial constant, a worked example, why the 28-day standard is kept out of the score, the data provenance and the limitations — so anyone can reproduce or challenge the number.
What the index measures
The index answers one question: is the NHS meeting the 62-day cancer treatment standard? It takes one official NHS accountability metric — the share of patients who start a first cancer treatment within 62 days of an urgent suspected-cancer referral — and turns it into a single 0–100 number, where 100 means the standard is met and lower means longer effective waits. It is published nationally, for 36 NHS England Integrated Care Boards and for each 62-day referral pathway, so the same number is comparable across every cut.
The formula
62-day standard achievement (GNCWI)
Take the real “62-day Combined” performance and express it against the NHS’s 85% operational standard — that at least 85% of patients should start treatment within 62 days of an urgent referral. This is the NHS’s own standard, not an editorial choice, so there is no arbitrary constant anywhere in the index.
GNCWI = min(100, pct62 / 85 × 100) (rounded to 1 dp)
Higher = better 62-day performance. A score of 100 means the standard is met; a score of 80 means performance is 80% of the way to the standard (i.e. 68% of patients treated within 62 days).
Worked example — England, April 2026
- Treated within 62 days: 69.8% of 27,522 patients reaching a treatment decision
- Treated in time (within the standard): 19,217 patients
- GNCWI = min(100, 69.8 / 85 × 100) = 82.1 / 100
For context, the 28-day Faster Diagnosis Standard performance was 75.9% in April 2026 (standard: 75%) — shown alongside but not part of the score (see below).
Why the 28-day standard is not in the score
NHS England also publishes the 28-day Faster Diagnosis Standard (FDS): that 75% of patients should get a cancer diagnosis or all-clear within 28 days of referral. Nationally the FDS is roughly met, while the 62-day treatment standard is not. Folding a met standard into the score would pull the headline up and mask the gap the 62-day standard exists to expose — patients being diagnosed quickly but then waiting too long to start treatment. So the FDS is reported alongside the index as context, never blended into it.
Data provenance
Every figure the index consumes is taken directly from the NHS England Cancer Waiting Times CRS Database, ICB Sub-Location extract. Sub-location figures are summed to their parent Integrated Care Boards using the NHS Organisation Data Service mapping; no value is estimated or imputed. The index — expressing the real 62-day performance against the 85% standard — is the only Gera-computed layer, and it is fully specified above.
Contains public sector information published by NHS England and licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: NHS England Cancer Waiting Times (CWT CRS) — ICB Sub-Location extract (April 2026, published June 2026).
Contains public sector information published by Gera Systems and licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0 (source data). Source: Gera NHS Cancer Waiting Times Index — derived from NHS England cancer open data (April 2026, published 20 June 2026).
What the index does NOT show
- It covers England only, and only the 62-day cancer treatment standard — not the 31-day treatment standard or waits within other UK nations.
- It is national, ICB and pathway-level — not hospital- or provider-level, and not your personal wait.
- It does not break down by cancer type; the “62-day Combined” measure aggregates all cancers on the urgent, screening, consultant-upgrade and breast-symptomatic routes.
- The 85% figure is an accountability standard, not a clinical urgency threshold; a clinically urgent case is prioritised regardless of the standard.
- The index is a summary measure. For any decision about your own care, contact your GP or NHS provider — this page is information, not medical advice. If you have red-flag symptoms, contact your GP or NHS 111 now; in an emergency call 999.
Update cadence
NHS England publishes Cancer Waiting Times data monthly. Gera recomputes the index on each release. The figures here are for April 2026 and were last recomputed on 20 June 2026.
Licence: Open Government Licence v3.0. Contains public sector information published by NHS England.