GWENT’S health board recorded its best performance for four months in February – and the best in Wales – against a key target for starting patients on cancer treatment.

That month, 113 patients out of 114 not diagnosed through the urgent suspected cancer route – those whose cancer was diagnosed following referral for an unrelated problem, began their treatment within 31 days – a 99.1 per cent rate.

That was above the 98 per cent target that has been set,for starting patients on this cancer pathway on their treatment inside 31 days, and this is the first time it had been achieved in Gwent for four months.

And Aneurin Bevan University Health Board was the only one in Wales to meet the target for February, following the start of a plan to improve performance.

The health board has been a consistently high performer against this target.

But in recent months there has been capacity issues that have had an impact on attempts to meet the target for the timely beginning of treatment.

Patients not diagnosed through the established urgent suspected cancer route, should begin their treatment within 31 days, and those whose disease is diagnosed through that route should start their treatment inside 62 days.

The shorter timescale for the former recognises the possibility that they have had cancer for a period of time without it being suspected or showing symptoms.

Ninety-five per cent of patients on the urgent suspected cancer route should begin their treatment inside 62 days, and in Gwent, meeting this target has proved more problematic.

It has not been achieved here since last April, and in January almost one-in-four patients did not start their treatment within the 62 days.

That was the worst performance in Wales that month, and for the any of the previous 18 months, though in February the position improved.

In February, 84.3 per cent of patients began their treatment inside 62 days, still well below the target however, with 12 patients waiting longer to start treatment.

Four of those were breast cancer patients, and there have been issues with staffing in diagnostics, which the health board hopes are now being solved.