9. Statement by the Minister for Health and Social Services: Cancer Services Improvement Plan

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 6:13 pm on 31 January 2023.

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Photo of Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan Labour 6:13, 31 January 2023

Diolch yn fawr, Russell. I'm pleased that you agree it's a good thing that we've got dates and goals and targets, and I think it is important to hold people to account; you hold me to account, I hold the health boards to account. So, it is important to have those in, and I am sure you will note the workforce implementation plan that's been published today also has very clear targets against the time frame. 

This is a plan that has been developed and is owned by the NHS. It's not a Welsh Government plan; it is owned by the NHS. And, so, if they have developed this plan, I fully expect them to be able to deliver the plan. So, they think it's achievable. I think a huge amount of work has gone into this, and I would like to pay tribute to all of the people who have worked over a long period of time to get this into the right place, because it's not just about writing a plan; you've got to get buy-in from across the whole of Wales when you're talking about needing consistent quality standards. You can't just make a statement about that; you've got to get buy-in to make sure that everybody is signed up to that. 

On the free dental care, look, at the moment, you know how pressurised our budgets are, so anything that involves any additional money is really, really difficult. Much as we'd love to go down that route, that would be very challenging at the moment. But, obviously, we can point, as I said in my statement, to the kind of support networks and funding streams that are available, particularly to people who are struggling. 

COVID of course did throw things out for a while. We're getting back on track now in terms of screening. It has taken a while, particularly in relation to breast cancer, because we needed to get areas where people wouldn't come into contact with each other. So, we've had to adapt quite a lot, and we're still only just getting back on track with some of those. But, it is a concern, of course, that we do have low survival rates in Wales, but, I think, it's really important for us to understand that, actually, things have improved over the past few years. We are in a situation where the outcomes for people are much better than they have been in the past. So, the one-year survival rate has gone from 66 per cent to 73 per cent in the past two decades, so, I think, we're going in the right direction. We've almost doubled the amount of money that's gone into cancer support, so I think it's important that we recognise that.

We have lower survival rates. Some of this is about making sure that we understand the preventative agenda. We've got to get in the right place. We keep on talking about the importance of the preventative agenda, Apparently, between 30 and 50 per cent of cancers are preventable, so we all have a responsibility to play our part if we want to try—. Now, that's not true for everybody; it's really important to state that, but, actually, there are things that we can do to help ourselves. I am confident that we will be in a better position at the end of this programme. 

Just in terms of the longer term, well, our cancer quality statement is our plan for the longer term. That's the statement that, again, has been developed by and with the NHS. And the health boards, as I say, were key in developing these plans, in particular, the Velindre cancer trust. I think that's really important to note there—the massive, massive amount of investment and work that's gone into this. 

And, of course, when it comes to the workforce, it is the health boards and the trusts that indicate to HEIW where the gaps are, and, then, they commission that work. And, just in terms of your personalised needs assessment, by 2024, every cancer patient will have a caseworker, so I hope that will give some comfort to people.