Cancer care 100-day plans announced by Wales NHS boards

Cancer services and waiting times will be improved by 100-day plans drawn up by Welsh health boards, Deputy Health Minister Vaughan Gething has announced.

In October, 81% of patients diagnosed with cancer began treatment within a 62 day target down from 85.6% in September - the worst figures since April 2013.

The Aneurin Bevan board in south east Wales did best with 88.5%, and Cardiff and Vale the worst with 62.9%.

The Cardiff and Vale health board blamed temporary staffing issues.

However, Mr Gething said certain health boards "need to work hard" on cancer times.

The health boards' plans, announced on Wednesday, prioritise:

• providing the first outpatients appointment within 10 working days

• completing diagnosis and agreeing treatment within 31 days

• filling staff vacancies

• improving access to diagnostic services

"I have met all the health boards to discuss how the Welsh NHS can improve its performance in this area and asked them to produce 100-day action plans aimed at improving local services and encouraging them to work collaboratively at a regional level," Mr Gething said.

"I expect the NHS to implement these plans immediately so patients and the public sees an improvement in performance in the months ahead."

The target level of 95% has not been reached since 2008

Lowri Griffiths, from the cancer charity Macmillan Wales, said it had been "concerned about the lack of improvement in cancer waiting times over the last 12 to 18 months" and was "dismayed" at the latest deterioration in the figures.

"We welcome this decisive action and expect to see a marked improvement across health boards before the 100 days allocated," she said.

Cardiff and Vale chief operating officer Alice Casey said a temporary lack of capacity in some areas was having a disproportionate effect on the overall picture on the board's cancer care.

"The health board provides a wide range of cancer services and the majority of patients receive treatment within an appropriate time," she said.

"But we know there are some who are not and we are doing all we can to put that right."

'Mind-boggling'

Conservative Shadow Health Minister Darren Millar said Labour ministers' targets had been "routinely missed for seven years" and "communities will rightly question when performance is ever going to reach an acceptable standard".

Welsh Liberal Democrat leader Kirsty Williams called the situation "verging on the ridiculous" and said it was "mind-boggling" how ministers were "content to allow so many cancer patients to face such lengthy waits".