Part of 3. 2. Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Health, Well-being and Sport – in the Senedd at 2:54 pm on 19 July 2017.
Thank you for that answer, Cabinet Secretary. Staying with the Wales cancer patient experience survey, nearly a quarter of patients said that the GP didn’t take their symptoms seriously before their diagnosis. In fact, 6 per cent of patients stated they had to see their GP at least five times before being referred to hospital. As stated in the cancer delivery plan, detecting cancer earlier makes it more likely that treatment can be curative, less intensive and less expensive. It is therefore vital that, when someone presents with symptoms that could be caused by cancer, they are taken seriously. Unfortunately, we seem to operate in a model where we rule conditions in rather than out. We work up to the most serious rather than working back. So, Cabinet Secretary, what more can be done to improve early cancer diagnosis in primary care?