9. Member Debate under Standing Order 11.21(iv): Early Cancer Diagnosis

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 4:58 pm on 11 March 2020.

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Photo of Julie Morgan Julie Morgan Labour 4:58, 11 March 2020

There will be an enhanced focus on the earlier detection of cancer. That is going to be part of the new plan. 

We also want to ensure our screening programmes are optimised. Many people have mentioned the screening programmes here today. I accept that more needs to be done to encourage those who are eligible for screening to take part. Public Health Wales has a dedicated screening engagement team, whose role is to raise awareness of screening and promote informed choice. 

It's important, I think, to remember that the target uptake for each screening programme is not a target for the number of people we'd like to see screened; these are standards that the programme must achieve in order to be viable and provide overall public health benefit at a population level. Obviously, taking part in screening is a matter of individual choice, because screening is for people who don't have symptoms of the disease, and nearly all participants won't have cancer who take part in screening. So, it is important for each person to consider the balance of potential benefits and harm from having a screening test and any subsequent investigations and treatments. We must always be mindful of the potential for harm and particularly the need for robust evidence of overall benefit when considering the introduction of any new screening programmes, but we have had significant successes in screening in Wales.

Breast Screening Wales was the UK's first fully digital mammography service. We're also the first UK country to introduce the more accurate human papillomavirus test into the cervical screening programme, and uptake has since increased to 73 per cent. We've also fully rolled out, as Caroline Jones said, a more accurate test for bowel screening, and will this year take the first in a series of steps to optimise the programme in line with national guidelines. Uptake has improved to 57 per cent, and I'm hopeful that we will meet the standard of 60 per cent for the existing age cohort. 

Our ambition remains to deliver cancer outcomes that are comparable with the best in Europe. We have made significant progress in recent years in outcomes and in service delivery, and I would like to point to the—[Interruption.] Yes, certainly.