Part of 1. Questions to the Minister for Health and Social Services – in the Senedd at 2:27 pm on 24 March 2021.
Thank you for that response, Minister. Now, unfortunately, urgent cancer referrals dropped dramatically between April and December 2020, and Cancer Research UK has made it clear that when these patients do enter the system, it will cause significant capacity problems in diagnostics. Indeed, we know that the percentage of patients starting their first definitive treatment within 62 days of first being suspected of cancer is 65.9 per cent in the Hywel Dda University Health Board area. Now, I listened very carefully to the responses you gave to my colleague Angela Burns earlier, but given Cancer Research UK's warnings, what is the Welsh Government doing to specifically plan for a diagnostic workforce that can cope with any increased demand in the future? I heard you saying that the workforce needs the right support, but what are you doing specifically to support the workforce, so that steps can then be taken to increase the number of people starting their treatment within 62 days, and that people in my constituency can get the urgent treatment that they need?