CANCER care and support in Dorset "needs to improve" according to new ratings published by the NHS for the first time.

For the first time, NHS England has published ratings to provide a snapshot of how well different areas of the country are diagnosing and treating cancer as well as supporting patients.

The ratings have been broken down by local Clinical Commissioning Groups with Dorset CCG being handed a rating of 'requires improvement'.

The result is based on four indicators - early diagnosis, one year survival rate, the number of people with an urgent GP referral having first definitive cancer treatment within 62 days and cancer patient experience.

It is hoped the ratings will drive improvement in cancer outcomes, including reducing variation and promoting the sharing of best practice.

For Dorset, 55.4 per cent of patients were diagnosed at an early stage, 82.7 per cent had first treatment for cancer within 62 days of referral and the one year survival rate was 71.6 percent.

The cancer patient experience section showed that 91.1 per cent of people would rather their care positively.

Dorset CCG said it was disappointed but is working hard.

A spokesman said: "We are of course disappointed to receive the rating of Requires Improvement from NHS England; this is due to the fact that one of the four assurance indicators – 62 day performance – was slightly below the national target during Q4 of 2015/16.

"We have been working hard with local partners to improve this and are pleased to say that during the last two months, June and July 2016, we have met the required target, which is set at 85 per cent, achieving more than 87 per cent for both months. This is compared to an England average of just more than 82 per cent for the same two months demonstrating that we are also performing well compared to the rest of the country.

"The other three indicators that are measured which are based on patient experience indicators, cancers diagnosed at stage one and two of disease and one year survival are on target in line with standards set through the NHS England CCG assurance framework."

Nationally, the percentage for early diagnosis is 50.7 per cent and the one year survival rate is 70 per cent.

In response to the publication of the national data, an NHS England spokesperson said: “NHS cancer patients’ care is now the best it’s ever been, but we’ve set stretching goals to save thousands more lives by 2020. Measured against this ambition it’s not surprising that most local services need to make further improvements, but we’re going to track progress transparently so everyone can see how we are improving care and outcomes for patients.

“Over the past four years adult smoking rates are down by nearly 1 million people demonstrating the benefits of a comprehensive public health policy. This will be the single biggest contributor to reduced cancer deaths.

“On top of current funding, this year we are also investing an extra £15m in improving early diagnosis and setting up Cancer Alliances to bring together leadership across local areas to drive improvements.”