GWENT’S health board is testing a new treatment pathway for cancer, as part of a move to develop a new waiting times system.

Gynaecology patients diagnosed with cancer, and a small number of patients in urology, are involved in a pilot project that aims to combine the need for the timely beginning of treatment while capturing aspects of patients’ experience of the treatment ‘path’.

The current system has patients placed on one of two pathways depending on the circumstances of their cancer diagnosis.

If cancer is suspected, they are placed on the urgent suspected cancer pathway, through which treatment should begin within 62 days.

However, if the cancer is discovered as a result of treatment or investigations for an unrelated problem, treatment should begin within 31 days.

A single cancer pathway is being piloted across Wales, with different health boards testing it with different cancer types.

The outcomes will be measured and compared against the existing system. The current system is considered by many doctors to be a blunt instrument that does not heed patients’ experience, assumes a common duration for many diagnostic and treatment pathways, and is not sufficiently flexible to account for aggressive or complex cancers.

While the trials for a new system are going on, performance against the existing 31-day and 62-day targets is continuing to be reported.

In June, 83.2 per cent of patients on the 62-day target began their treatment inside that timescale, meaning that one-in-six did not.

The situation improved only fractionally during July, according to the latest figures.

The June drop in performance was caused by 16 breaches of the 62-day standard, primarily involving breast cancer patients.

As a result of performance issues, Aneurin Bevan University Health Board is providing extra capacity to deal with breast referrals.

Prior to this issue arising, the health board had consistently been the best in Wales against the 62-day standard, recording the best monthly performance in 19 of the 25 months to April this year.

In July, 94.4 per cent of patients in Gwent on the 31-day pathway began their treatment inside that time.