Macmillan responds to Wales Cancer Waiting Times Data
Please find Macmillan Cancer Support’s response to the latest cancer treatment waiting times data for Wales below.
Off the back of this, we need to see action, detailed in our statement below:
Glenn Page, Policy and Public Affairs Manager at Macmillan Cancer Support, says:
‘Today’s data shows cancer waiting times in Wales are not improving. Hundreds of people are being left to face agonising long waits for cancer treatment. This can’t go on.
Welsh healthcare staff are doing the very best they can but are working in a permanent state of crisis. It’s unsustainable.
It’s been a year since The Cancer Improvement Plan was published, and we have seen little progress, targets are continuously being missed and it’s time for action.
We look forward to working with the new First Minister to cement cancer as priority. If the Welsh Government acts now, we can turn this around and ensure people living with cancer get the treatment they desperately need, now and in the years to come.’
Please find Macmillan Cancer Support’s data analysis breakdown below of the latest cancer waiting times figures for Wales, with references at the bottom of this email thread if needed.
Key facts
- In January 2024, more than 860 people with cancer in Wales (45%) waited more than 62 days to start treatment from first being suspected of having cancer[i]
- The national cancer waiting times target in Wales was missed again in January, showing that NHS cancer services in Wales are still struggling under intense pressure[ii]
- Recent Macmillan analysis shows 2023 was the worst year on record for cancer waiting times in Wales[iii]
- The national cancer waiting times target in Wales has never been met since first being introduced, and an interim recovery target set by the Welsh Government has also been missed[iv]
- For some cancer types, performance remains even more concerning. For example, in January 2024 only 31% of people with gynaecological cancer, 36% of people with urological cancer and 33% of people with lower gastrointestinal cancer started their treatment on time
[i] Figures based on Suspected Cancer Pathways data from StatsWales, accessed 21st March 2024. In January 2024, 54.7% of people with cancer in Wales (1,049 out of 1,917) started their first definitive treatment within 62 days of first being suspected of cancer. This was 3.3 percentage points lower than the previous month, but 2.8 percentage points higher than January 2023. However, it still means 868 people in Wales were left waiting too long in January 2024
[ii] As per ref 1
[iii] As per ref 1. Overall performance for 2023 was 0.4 percentage points lower than 2022 making it the worst cancer waiting times performance on record in Wales. Across the whole of 2022 56.2% of people were treated within the 62 days target. In 2023 55.9% of people started treatment within the 62 days target time
[iv] At least 75% of patients should start treatment within 62 days (without suspensions) of first being suspected of cancer. Data published for time periods before December 2020 are not subject to the target. The Welsh Government’s planned care recovery plan established a new target of 80%, to be reached by 2026. Those targets have never been met, and an interim recovery target that cancer diagnosis and treatment would be undertaken within 62 days for 70% of people by March 2023 was also missed
