Cancer wait-time targets could go in efficiency drive
CURRENT cancer waitingtimes targets in Wales could be scrapped in a bid to improve performance and efficiency, the Health Secretary has confirmed.
At present there are two cancer pathways set by the Welsh Government each month, classed as “urgent” and “non-urgent”, which have separate targets.
But Health Secretary Vaughan Gething is proposing to introduce a single pathway which will start from the point of suspicion of cancer for all patients.
Speaking ahead of his keynote address at the Wales Cancer Conference in Cardiff on Tuesday, he said: “If the new pathway proves to be successful and there is confidence it is a better way of measuring cancer waiting-times then our ambition is to replace the two current waiting-times targets with this new single cancer pathway.
“The proposals have been clinically led and have wide support across the clinical community.
“We will listen carefully to patients and clinicians before making any changes.
“We hope the new way of measuring people’s waits for cancer treatment will help NHS bodies to improve performance, quality, and the efficiency of cancer services.”
According to figures for September, 85.5% of patients with “urgent” suspected cancer started treatment within the target time of 62 days.
The Welsh Government wants 95% of patients to be seen within this time period – a target which has not been met since 2008.
But the Welsh NHS has had more success on the “non-urgent” route, with 98.1% of patients being treated within the target time of 31 days. This met the Welsh Government’s target of 98%.
But cancer charity Macmillan said it was still “unacceptable” that almost 1,300 people did not start their cancer treatment on time over the last 12 months.
Susan Morris, head of services for Macmillan Wales, said: “Any future changes to cancer treatment waiting-times must be based on delivering earlier diagnosis and more timely care for every single person with cancer in Wales – and be delivered consistently right across the country.
“While we welcome any move to improve care, like the single cancer pathway, any changes made must still allow us to measure our performance over time and also against other countries that are already achieving better outcomes for cancer patients.
“The reality is that behind every cancer waiting-time statistic there is a person anxiously waiting to find out if they have cancer or for their treatment to begin.
“We want to see a system that leaves no-one facing the terrible worry that a long wait for treatment can cause.
“To achieve this we need to see continued investment and a longer-term plan for a sustainable cancer care workforce that can keep pace with what we know will be a rising demand for cancer care services in the future.”
The announcement about the proposed change to target coincided with the Welsh Government’s Cancer Annual Statement, which appears to show continuing improvements in cancer services in Wales.
Despite demand for cancer services rising at around 1.5% a year the report shows performance has remained stable over the past few years and there have been improvements in some areas.
Overall in 2016-17, 17,201 people started their treatment for cancer and 15,912 (93%) were treated within target. This is 1,705 (12%) more than five years ago (201112).