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

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 6:30 pm on 31 January 2023.

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Photo of Laura Anne Jones Laura Anne Jones Conservative 6:30, 31 January 2023

Thank you for your statement, Minister. I'm pleased to finally see a statement and a plan today, as my constituents have been waiting an awfully long time for this to come to fruition. The Welsh Conservatives, and my colleague here, Russell George, have been calling for a cancer plan for a long time now, and Wales was the only country in the UK not to have a Government publish a cancer plan for far too long. So, I welcome that today.

But, Minister, I wanted to touch on less survivable cancers. It's mentioned in the plan, which is welcome, but I'm conscious that, in the past, Welsh Government communication campaigns have been poor. So, in terms of symptom awareness, will you be embarking on a cancer symptom awareness campaign to help members of the public and GPs? And regarding one of the most life-threatening cancers, lung cancer, will you be ramping up and implementing targeted lung health checks, which could save over 100 lives a year once it's rolled out in Wales? And will the Welsh Government be implementing the recommendations of the UK National Screening Committee? Thank you.