3. How is the Welsh Government supporting cancer patients to receive the correct treatment? OQ57818

Cancer treatments should be provided in line with National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidelines. National optimal pathways have now been published in Wales across a range of cancer types. This means that expert clinicians have set out what should be delivered for different types of cancer, no matter where in Wales someone is diagnosed.

Thank you very much, Minister, for your answer. I wrote to you back in September regarding access to cytoreductive surgery, and at the time you outlined that the reason why treatment wasn't routinely available in Wales was following the advice from NICE, as you've just pointed out in your answer to me. But, since that letter and your response, I'm sure you'll be aware of two high-profile cases across Wales, where one lady moved to England to receive the relevant surgery, and another took legal action in order to receive treatment after being refused twice for treatment in Wales. Now, as I understand it, the treatment is available to patients in England, Scotland and Northern Ireland, but only in exceptional circumstances in Wales. Of course, I hear your answer in terms of following the advice of NICE, but I would be grateful for your assessment of why there is a different approach in Wales, and why is it that cytoreductive surgery is being denied, or is certainly less routinely available, in Wales to Welsh patients who have peritoneal cancer, and I would ask you would you be willing to review the access to this type of treatment.

Thanks very much. Well, I think it is important that we set out those national optimal pathways, and they have been developed for different tumour sites. And what we're trying to do is to make sure that we have value-based intervention. Of course, we have a unique approach in Wales, in the sense that we have a single, unified waiting time, which is different from the way they do it in England.

So, there are different kinds of cancers, and certainly when it comes to pancreatic cancer, for example, it's one of the six least survivable cancers. It is important that people understand that there are prescriptions, like pancreatic enzyme replacement therapy, which are available for all health boards in Wales, and they should apply that locally. So, where it is available, part of what we're trying to do is to disseminate awareness and produce materials to inform clinicians throughout Wales of the importance of prescribing the appropriate medicines. So, I hope that gives some clarification. 

Question 4 [OQ57841] is withdrawn, so question 5, Delyth Jewell.